


Home, A Place Where I Belong

by curlsandblueyes



Series: Good Is A Thing You Do [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel's Avengers (Video Game), Ms. Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Avengers - Freeform, Avengers Family, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Big Sister Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner Feels, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Character Death, Depression, Everyone Needs A Hug, Ew, Family, Family Feels, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Feels, Found Families, Happy Ending, Healing, Heavy - Freeform, Hulk dad, Imprisonment, Irondad, Kamala Khan Feels, Kamala Khan Needs a Hug, Kidnapping, Marvel - Freeform, Mentor & Mentee - Freeform, Mentor & Protégé, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Kamala Khan, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Thor (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Sad, Suicidal Thoughts, Superheroes, Team as Family, Thunder Dad, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Torture, all the feels, captain dad, except monica, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:14:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27457807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlsandblueyes/pseuds/curlsandblueyes
Summary: It's been almost a year since the Avengers defeated MODOK. The world still looks down upon the Inhumans with disdain and the Scientist Supreme has been lurking in the shadows. How will Kamala grow into the hero she wants to be when her whole world is shattered? And how does she stay true to herself when her one hope stands against everything she is?Updated every Sunday! :)
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Kamala Khan, Bruce Banner & Natasha Romanoff, Kamala Khan & Bruce Banner, Kamala Khan & The Abomination, Monica Rappaccini & Kamala Khan, Natasha Romanoff & Kamala Khan, Steve Rogers & Kamala Khan, The Avengers & Ms. Marvel, Thor & Kamala Khan, Thor Odinson & Kamala Khan, Tony Stark & Bruce Banner, Tony Stark & Kamala Khan
Series: Good Is A Thing You Do [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936711
Comments: 98
Kudos: 74





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story is really self-indulgent towards Kamala and Bruce's "father-daughter" relationship. The idea for this fic actually came from the song Home by MGK, X Ambassadors and Bebe Rexha. Very angsty with a happy ending. I have to thank my wonderful beta quirky-little-penguin-blog, on Tumblr, for helping me and working through my atrociously unedited rough draft. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And a shoutout to Chess-Blackfyre for nerding out and digging deep into Ms. Marvel with me. Your guy's support means everything! Hope you enjoy!

“Hey Kamala, ready to go?” Tony asked **,** appearing by the desk where she and Bruce were sat.

Kamala glanced up from her homework and over to the time, and gasped. “Is it really this late already?”

“Yup,” Tony chuckled.

“Sorry Kamala, I should’ve kept watch on the time,” Bruce said, grimacing at the 11:17PM glowing back at them.

“It’s not your fault, Bruce. Thanks for helping me with my homework! I’ll see you Friday!” Kamala grinned, hopping out of her seat.

“Go get what you need and I’ll have JARVIS warm up the quinjet,” Tony said **,** sticking his hands into his pockets and nodding his head towards the cabin quarters.

“Right! I call dibs on the stereo!” Kamala called, speeding out of the lab.

“Absolutely not!” Tony yelled after her.

Bruce chuckled **,** sitting back in his seat and spun slowly to face Tony. The former billionaire grumbled about horrible pop music and no taste **,** but Bruce knew, like the rest of them, that they couldn’t say no to their youngest Avenger. He crossed his arms **,** and Tony looked over to him shaking his head. “I don’t know how you do it, Doc.”

“Do… what exactly?” Bruce asked **,** raising a brow.

“Mentoring. I think I’d shoot myself with my own repulsor if I had a teenager following me around all day,” Tony said, poking one of the diffusion tanks against the wall.

“Well Tony, I think you’d find it more rewarding than you think it is,” Bruce sighed, resting his chin in his hand.

“And what exactly do you get out of it? Because I don’t exactly see Kamala aspiring to be a nuclear physicist,” Tony said. 

Bruce felt the urge to roll his eyes. “It **’** s about the experience, Tony. And you learn things from them, too.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, like the fact that good music taste is dying.”

Bruce knew he would get nowhere with Tony **,** but the fact that he mentioned it had him thinking that Tony may be interested one day. Bruce never thought he’d have someone to mentor, and as Tony pointed out **,** Kamala had no real passion for the same subjects as he did. But sharing the experiences he had with her and having someone under his wing was up-lifting. Kamala was eager and ambitious, always ready to help and learn even if she had trouble slowing down sometimes. Regardless, he wouldn’t trade his time with her for anything else. She made him happy, taught him the world wasn’t so hopeless **,** and showed him that he still had the capacity to do good, as the Hulk and himself. They were lessons he treasured **,** and he was grateful. 

“Ms **.** Khan is waiting for you in the quinjet, Mr **.** Stark. And she is browsing the local radio stations as we speak,” JARVIS’ voice broke the silence.

“Gah! Oh no she doesn’t! Gotta go **,** Brucie!” Tony shouted **,** heading for the exit.

“Tony!” Bruce called out before he was gone.

“What?” Tony yelled, popping his head back into the lab.

“Just, uh, get Kamala home safe, all right?”

“You worry too much,” Tony huffed and headed out.

Bruce, as always, disagreed.

  
  



	2. Chapter One

“Thanks, Tony!” Kamala said as the quinjet runway lowered.

Tony turned in the passenger seat smirking, “For the ride or the best selection of AC/DC you’ve heard?”

Kamala placed a finger to her chin and looked up. “Who?”

“That’s it, get off my quinjet! You can swim to the  _ Chimera  _ on Friday!”

“I’m kidding… and how would I do that?” Kamala said **,** raising a brow at him and crossing her arms.

“You’ll figure it out. Good night, Kamala,” Tony said.

“Night!” Kamala laughed and jumped from the runway to the building below.

She waited and watched the door to the quinjet close then turn and headed off back into the night. She inhaled deeply, the smell of gasoline and city mysteries a welcome scent. She’d kick herself in the morning for it, but she wasn’t that tired. She took her time crossing along rooftops heading for home. There were no clouds in the sky tonight **,** and the moon was almost full **,** lighting her way back. 

She jumped from the rooftop across from her apartment building and grabbed onto the fire escape. Kamala could see the light from her window pouring out onto the ledge beneath her feet and sighed in relief that her mother hadn’t closed it. She lifted it up enough to slip inside and closed it fully behind her. 

“Abu? I’m home!” She called out, lifting her bag off of her head. 

Kamala’s father usually stayed up on Sunday nights, waiting for her to come home. She didn’t hear a reply and assumed her father had gone to bed early. She didn’t blame him **;** it was terribly late. 

Kamala looked about her room and smiled at the growing number of pictures on the dresser across from her bed. Now alongside the pictures of her family and friends were pictures of her with the Avengers. She treasured them all and loved adding to her collection that was now branching off to the wall. They were so precious to her, and she frowned at the clear imprint in the dust on her desk where a frame had been. The teenager got to her knees looking under the desk and her frown deepened when all she saw were long-forgotten socks and dust bunnies. She tried not to worry about it, maybe it had fallen when her mother came in to clean **,** and she picked it up **.** Kamala would ask her tomorrow, but right now she was hungry and set off for the kitchen in search of her prey.

All of the lights were out **,** so she made sure to stay quiet as she tiptoed into the kitchen. She passed the dining room table and went straight for the fridge, but as soon as she grabbed the handle the lights flickered on. 

“Ah!” she yelped, jumping back and laying a hand on her pounding heart. She assumed it was Aamir playing a jump scare on her and she turned around to tell him off, but froze. 

The person sitting at her table was not Aamir.

“Hello Kamala, long time no see,” Monica purred.

Kamala did not respond. She felt a cold hand coiling down her spine as she slowly backed away from the fridge. Monica smiled at her, her manicured hands clasped on the table and looking far too comfortable. She nodded her head towards the seat across from her and motioned with her hand. The memory of her interrogation came to Kamala’s mind and she ignored the gesture as Bruce had. Monica seemed to realize this as well and chuckled to herself. 

“You and Bruce have grown quite close, haven’t you?” she sighed.

She reached to something laying flat on the table **,** and Kamala recognized it as the missing picture from her room. The picture, one of her favorites, was of her and Bruce. She had taken the selfie of them sitting in a park eating ice cream. He had treated her to it after she got her first ‘A’ on a calculus exam. She watched with a generous amount of disgust as Monica turned it around in her hands.

“What are you doing here, Monica?” Kamala hissed. 

“Please take a seat, Kamala,” Monica sighed, placing the picture to the side.

Something in her warning tone sent another shiver down Kamala’s spine. Where was her family? What did Monica want? She scowled as she walked over to the seat across from Monica and sat down. One part of her, the Avenger part, screamed at her to just punch Monica straight through the wall. Another part of her, the anxious daughter, wondered about her family’s safety, told her not to be irrational and provoke Monica. The voice sounded like Bruce, if she was honest.

“Much better **,** yes? Now we can have a civil conversation,” Monica said with another eerie smile.

She apologized to the Bruce in her mind and snapped **,** “You wouldn’t know what civil was if it slapped you in the face. You’re crazy.”

Kamala knew she hit a soft spot when something changed in Monica’s eyes, but the woman’s face remained neutral as she ignored Kamala’s insult. “I’ve come here to thank you, Kamala.”

See, crazy. “Thank me? For what?”

Monica waved her hand and leaned back in her seat. “You got rid of George. Honestly, I was planning on using him myself, but he proved to be too - unstable in the end. He was getting in the way of much grander plans.”

“You mean he was a failed experiment,” Kamala countered, crossing her arms.

“Failed experiment. Unstable. It doesn’t matter now. It’s all in the past, and there’s no need to look anywhere else but the future,” Monica said with a small shrug.

“What do you want Monica?” Kamala asked, sick of her words and games.

“What I’ve always wanted, Kamala. To save the world,” she said, eyes sparkling with prospect.

“Why don’t you leave that to the Avengers?” Kamala growled.

Monica let out a small huff of amusement, shaking her head and clasping her hands against the table again. “Kamala, I feel sorry for you. Putting such high hopes in those people, who have done nothing but disappoint. The fact that people still don’t trust them proves that they aren’t perfect and never were.”

“No one is perfect Monica, that’s what makes us all human. Imperfection doesn’t need to be cured, it needs to be accepted. You’re not interested in helping anyone but yourself, and all you want is control,” Kamala breathed.

Monica looked at her like she was studying the behavior of a wild animal. Kamala knew she was thinking about her next words, and would try to convince Kamala that she was right. Kamala was ready for her though **;** she had seen her manipulation and mind games. The woman was cold and calculating, an opportunist. Kamala refused to give her any openings.

“I see we will agree to disagree on that for now. One day you’ll wake up, and I hope you will realize that the side you play for is a losing one,” Monica said, voice pitying.

Kamala gritted her teeth and her fists swelled. “Where is my family, Monica?”

Monica looked to the side and swept her fingers along the table like she was dusting it off. “We’ll get to that. Now, for the second reason why I’m here.”

Kamala narrowed her eyes and watched Monica lean down beside herself. She pulled out what looked like a small tv remote and wiggled it in front of her face, like it was a bag of enticing sweets.

“As long as you do everything I say, I won’t hurt your family, Kamala. Do you understand?” Monica asked in a honeyed voice.

The hair on Kamala’s arms stood straight up and fear seized around her heart, choking her. She opened her mouth to demand Monica tell her where they were, but was cut off abruptly. Something heavy and cold snapped around her neck, tugging at her skin painfully. The next thing she saw were stars as something slammed her head into the table **,** smacking her nose into the solid wood. She yelped as her arms were wrenched behind her back in a firm grip **,** and an immovable weight kept her head turned to the side and against the table. Warm blood trickled down her nose **,** and through the smell of iron she could also smell something tangy and sharp. Like electricity. 

Kamala’s eyes traveled up and she found herself staring at a man glowing with blue light. His skin looked like a negative photograph, and his eyes were completely whited out. The man’s whole body thrummed with energy, and the hand against her head grew uncomfortably warm.

She struggled against him, but he had an iron grip and pushed his full body weight onto her, rendering her movements fruitless. She stopped trying to struggle and huffed in short angry bursts, eyes snapping up to glare at Monica. The Scientist Supreme merely continued to smirk at her and rubbed her thumb along the remote in her hands. 

“Sorry Kamala. I don’t think he broke your nose, but I will check it out for you once we get back to my lab,” Monica said.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Kamala growled.

She prepared to embiggen, but Monica chided warningly like a parent telling her child not to touch something. “I wouldn’t try to do that if I were you. That collar around your neck isn't just for looks.”

And to demonstrate she pressed the button.

Kamala screamed in agony as the collar constricted and sent painful shocks of electricity straight through her body. It seemed like it would never end and when it finally did she gasped for air, coughing and sputtering as she struggled to fill her lungs. The air she did manage to suck in cut painfully down her dry throat and she desperately tried to swallow, but wasn’t able to. She panted against the table, closing her eyes and feeling exhausted to the point of passing out.

“Now that we have an understanding. I think it’s time to continue this conversation back at my lab,” Monica said, standing. She picked up a bag from the floor and walked to the side of the table to lean down and look Kamala directly in the face.

“What d-do you w-want from me?” Kamala choked out, voice hoarse and slurred.

“Everything you took from me the last time,” Monica growled, her sickly sweet and calm demeanor fading to one of agitation and rage as she sneered down at Kamala. “I’m going to take back those powers that you have only used to waste all my hard work. But first, I’m going to break you. I’m going to destroy everything you care about and make you watch as all your fragile and pointless effort crumbles around you.”

Kamala narrowed her eyes at her. “The Avengers will stop you,” she spat.

“We’ll see about that,” Monica laughed.

The hand against Kamala’s head grabbed a fist full of hair and yanked her back. She winced as her spine smacked into the rungs of the chair. She was forced to her feet and pushed forward, right under Monica’s nose. Monica smirked as she pulled a syringe from her bag and Kamala was powerless to stop her from plunging it into her neck. The room grew hazy and her limbs grew heavy, but she didn’t black out.

“Take her to the car,” Monica told the man behind her. The scientist’s voice rolled out deep, and slow, like time was stuck in slow motion.

The man pushed her forward again, but her heavy limbs made her stumble. The man grabbed one arm and hoisted her over his shoulder where she hung limply. He walked out of the kitchen and Kamala’s eyes looked around her as he headed for the front door. She looked around to the living room and her whole mind focused for one moment on the eyes that met her.

Yusuf Khan looked at his daughter from his place on the couch, wires binded his arms and legs. Eyes pleading and wide with fear. But not for him, never for him. Always for his family. Kamala’s heart split in two as she saw her mother holding the hands of her brother with one and gripping her father’s with the other, all tied up and frightened beyond compare. She didn’t break eye contact with her father, even as the man holding her opened the door. She heard Monica following, but in no rush. 

Abu mouthed a few words to her and she felt the tears she had been trying to hold back finally spill over.

_ I love you Beta. _

She wanted to scream, to cry, to fight back... but she couldn’t. Kamala’s body was too heavy and her tongue felt like lead in her mouth. Monica finally stopped right in front of Kamala, blocking her view of her father and she smiled triumphantly before the door closed. 

Kamala squeezed her eyes shut as the man carried her down the stairs. She screamed in her mind, a prisoner trapped within. She needed to save them. She needed to go back and do good. 

But who was gonna save her first?

As she thought about her helpless family the realization came that she needed to be saved, too. She should’ve called the Avengers when she had a chance. She should’ve fought Monica instead of sitting in that stupid chair. She should’ve done _ something _ .

The prickling fear that had wrapped around her heart suddenly became full blown panic. She wanted someone to come save her. Save her family. She was scared. Helpless. She wanted the Avengers. Anybody. She wanted Bruce.

“Please... stop,” she managed to say, but the man simply shifted her on his shoulder and ignored her pathetic plea.

The thoughts in her mind became muddled and blurred. The lights outside streaked in her vision and she felt nauseous. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed or how far they had gone, but she heard the sound of a car door opening. The man dropped Kamala on the back seat and she groaned tiredly. The door was slammed shut and she rolled to her side. Kamala used every last bit of strength she had to push herself up and looked out the window of the back seat. 

The blue of the man polluted most of her vision, but she could see the lights of her apartment building and pieced together that they were across the street. A figure was walking towards them and Kamala guessed it was Monica. She stopped next to the blue man and then looked over to Kamala. Kamala couldn’t make out her expression, but knew she was still smiling all the same.

Suddenly, the blue man began to glow so bright that all Kamala saw was white. Then with a burst of energy that rocked the car he sent a stream of light towards the building and it exploded.

Kamala’s whole world crashed around her and she screamed, the sound mangled and disturbing even to her. She watched as the whole building erupted in flames and she knew then that there was no way her family survived. She pressed her face into the back of the seats and sobbed in agony, pain blossoming in her chest. 

She had failed. Utterly defeated and her family had paid the price.

The car started to move and all Kamala could see in her mind was her father, repeating the words he mouthed over and over and over again. 

She hadn’t been able to say it back. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, feedback, criticism! Opinions of every kind welcomed and appreciated! :)


	3. Hey Guys!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hate having to put this here but I feel I must as I promised Sunday updates

Hey guys 👋🏻 I know I said I was gonna update my long fic today, but I was hit with some really bad news regarding a surgery I have to have this past Friday, so maybe I’ll get it up tomorrow night. I apologize again for those hoping to read the new chapter tonite. If I’m feeling ambitious tomorrow I might even post two 😊


	4. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Here we are, with chapter two!

“Honey, I’m home!” Tony sang as he walked into the common room from the hangar. 

Surprisingly, Tony found the whole team sitting around the table to his left with drinks in front of them and a nearly finished game of chess sitting between Bruce and Natasha. The tv above them was playing a rerun of America’s Home Funniest videos that Steve and Thor enjoyed watching together. Tony raked in plenty of comedy from just watching the two of them. Steve looked over to Tony and raised a hand in greeting.

“Getting Kamala home a little late tonight?” Steve asked.

Tony shrugged and Bruce smiled sadly. “We lost track of time going over her homework.”

“Understandable,” Steve said, nodding and turning back to the tv program.

Tony hummed to himself as he walked around to grab a soda from the vending machine. He paused in front of the yellow one and looked over to Thor. “Did his highness replace the soda with mead yet again or is this one safe?”

Thor smirked proudly. “I did indeed stock the machine with fine Asgardian ale, however… the doctor did not approve of Ms. Khan having access to such drink, and I put back the soda. It is now safe.”

Tony pressed one of the buttons and a can lowered into the compartment for him to take. He opened the top with a loud pop and took a sip before sliding into the seat next to Natasha. He looked down at the chessboard studying the pieces in play. Natasha was currently winning by the looks of the amount of pieces she had, but also looked cornered with her forces spread out.

“Aw why not let the kid have a little fun? Better here under our supervision instead of at one of those poorly put together teenage ‘ragers’,” Tony said. 

“Absolutely not, Tony. We will not be facilitating the introduction of alcohol to Kamala. Accidentally or purposely,” Steve said stressing the point.

“Did you get that line out of one of those parenting books, Cap?” Tony asked raising an eyebrow at Steve.

Steve’s cheeks turned red and he opened his mouth, but closed it just as quickly. Tony and Natasha snickered, but Bruce cleared his throat, “I also told Thor that even if it was, uh, by accident it would be cruel. I’m not sure how upset Kamala would be.”

“And why would she be upset exactly? Isn’t it every teenager’s dream to get drunk while they’re young and their livers can still recover?” Tony asked.

Bruce looked at him unamused, but Natasha answered the question. “Because, in case you forgot, Tony, Kamala is Muslim. They don’t drink.”

“Ohhhhh.”

Thor hummed in agreement. “I thought it a falsehood when the doctor first told me this. Young Kamala is a warrior worthy of the halls of Valhalla, and all warriors are gifted feast and drink, but it is true. Young Kamala told me herself! Perhaps that is why she is so tiny…?” Thor’s voice trailed off at the end, as he considered this piece of evidence and Tony rolled his eyes.

The TV which had been in the middle of one of the home videos suddenly became interrupted by a news broadcast. They all looked up and Thor groaned in annoyance, “I missed what happened to the fat man!”

“Thor,” Steve said. 

“Right, sorry,” Thor sighed.

Everyone's favorite news broadcaster, Phil Sheldon, appeared on the screen with a building completely engulfed in flames behind him, firefighters and people rushing around behind him. He cleared his throat and held up the microphone as he began.

“ _ Good evening! We are here in Jersey City-“ _

They all looked amongst themselves, tension filling the air.

“ _ \- where civilians have reported a spontaneous explosion that has completely destroyed this building. As firefighters continue to battle the flames, we talked to a few police officers about what happened and what could have caused this horrific event. I have Officer Martino here to speak with us about those suspicions. Officer, what are people saying that might give you any clues as to how this came about?”  _

Phil Sheldon turned to the police officer next to him who finished speaking with another officer and headed back to the fire fight behind him. Officer Martino placed his hands on his hips and looked at Phil,  _ “Well we won’t know the whole story until the fire is out and the inspector has a chance to examine the scene, but some of neighbors on the lower level of the apartment building said that they suspect the explosion was caused by an Inhuman who lived above them.” _

“JARVIS is that-?” Tony asked.

“Unfortunately, yes. The building in question is Ms Khan’s,” JARVIS said.

“Start the quinjet, JARVIS!” Steve shouted. 

~

The flight to Jersey City was filled with a heavy silence. No one said anything or looked at each other. JARVIS kept relaying their arrival time every five minutes and they all sat around anxiously. Steve and Tony sat in the pilot seats, their eyes trained straight ahead. Natasha stood behind them, arms crossed and face betraying no emotions. Thor sat in the seat behind her, face clouded in concern. The god of thunder looked up towards Bruce sitting across from him and then quickly averted his eyes.

Bruce sat there, leaning forward with his arms resting on his thighs and hands steepled above his nose so all they could see were his eyes. Natasha glanced back at him and slowly walked over to his side, sitting beside him. He didn’t look at her and she placed a hand on his back. “We don’t know anything yet.”

“Exactly,” Bruce hissed right back, and she frowned at him.

Tony suddenly leaned forward and slammed his fist on the center console. “Dammit! I should’ve - I should’ve-!”

“You didn’t know, Tony. It’s not your fault,” Steve said.

There was a silence again as JARVIS reported them ten minutes out and the cityscape came into view as they sank below the clouds. Thor hummed contemplatively and crossed his arms leaning back, his face contorted in angry confusion. “Who would dare to accuse Kamala of such a heinous act? She is incapable of such evil.”

“We’ll figure out all of that when we get on the ground. For now… we continue to hope. Whoever did this, we’ll find them,” Steve said.

“Aye,” Thor growled, finger tips sparking.

The quinjet hissed as the engines began to die and the plane lowered onto a nearby rooftop. Bruce, Thor, and Natasha stood up looking out the window as they finished their landing. The inside of the quinjet was washed aglow in orange light as the flames of the burning building ahead finally begin to die, unveiling the desecrated and black structure left beneath. 

“Oh my god,” Tony breathed.

“Avengers, lets go,” Steve said. 

The runway of the quinjet lowered to the ground and a gush of hot air rushed into the cool interior. The cloud of smoke hanging in the air was suffocating and stung at their eyes. Steve found a fire escape and used his shield to break the lock. The ladder rattled as it fell to the ground with a heavy bang and Natasha headed down first with Tony behind her, while Thor waited on the ground for them. Bruce moved to go next, but Steve placed a hand against his shoulder. Bruce looked at him, questioningly and Steve’s brow furrowed. “Bruce. Do you think you should stay with the quinjet?”

“W-what? Why? Why?” Bruce demanded.

Steve’s expression turned serious as he moved his hand to squeeze Bruce’s shoulder. “If we go down there, and —,” Steve started to ask but paused, unable to say the words. “The  _ worst  _ has happened. Are you gonna be okay?”

Bruce clenched his fists and looked at him in shock, “Okay? You’re asking me if  _ ‘I’ll be okay’ _ ? Are you serious?” Bruce demanded.

“Yes. It already looks like someone is trying to blame her for this, and therefore us, if we have a ‘Code Green’ down there what else will they think?” Steve reasoned with him.

Bruce looked away, his nails dug into his palms and his teeth clenched. Steve’s face softened and he sighed. “We all care about Kamala, but I know how special she is to you.”

Bruce breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. He knew what Cap was saying was right, but he couldn’t wait. “I need to know, Cap.”

Steve looked at him, still a little unsure, before he finally conceded and nodded. “Okay.”

Bruce descended first and waited for Steve at the bottom. There was a sea of people in front of them, all trying to see what was happening. It seemed the others had already gone through and Bruce and Steve followed. 

“Pardon me! Avenger business, please step aside!” Steve yelled out as they pushed through the swarm of bodies. 

Some people gasped, others booed or cheered. The excited voices were drowned out by the blaring sirens and the shouting of firefighters, police and first responders ahead of them. They reached the end of the crowd and stepped forward only to be stopped by yellow caution tape and an officer. He started to shout at them to step back, but faltered when he saw Steve.

“Captain America,” he breathed, eyes growing wide.

“Officer, we need to get past,” Steve said.

The officer's eyes slid over to Bruce when Steve said ‘we’ and there was a small flash of uncertainty in his expression. Normally, Bruce would’ve felt a sting of guilt, never used to being untrusted despite the years of good he did as an Avenger. However, now it just made him more impatient and he looked away hoping the officer wouldn’t see the green flicker in his eyes as his annoyance surged to the surface. Reluctantly, the officer lifted the tape and Steve thanked him. Bruce and Steve headed off towards where Natasha and Tony were. Tony was standing and Natasha was crouching in front of him leaning over something laying on the ground. As they approached, Bruce stopped abruptly a few feet away and brought a hand to cup his mouth as he felt a wave of nausea hit him. 

The smell of charred flesh burned in his nose, worse than the cloud of smoke around them. Natasha was leaning over the row of bodies the firefighters had laid on the ground. A coroner was standing there watching Natasha with a look of clear disdain, but not attempting to stop her. As the SHIELD spy moved from covered body to covered body, the fear in Bruce rose more with each silent response. 

“Where’s Thor?” Steve asked, voice firm, but almost inaudible. 

“H-he went to help,” Tony replied, frozen in place and eyes unable to leave the scene in front of him. 

Bruce hesitantly stepped closer, eye squeezed nearly shut and arms trembling. He kept a hand firmly around his mouth and hugged his waist with his other, gripping the side of his shirt so hard he heard threads tearing. Natasha reached the second to last body in the first row and Bruce’s heart thumped impossibly loud in his chest as she paused. 

“This…” Natasha breathed. 

_ No… no… not her, it can’t be her, not Kamala, no…. _

“Who is it Nat?” Steve asked, his voice again impossibly small and quiet.

She pulled back the cover and hung her head, “It’s her father.”

Bruce let out a choked gasp and buried his face in both hands. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or horrified. He felt a guilty mixture of both as he breathed raggedly into his hands. It wasn’t Kamala. But her father was gone. Yusuf Khan who welcomed the Avengers into his home for dinner and trusted Bruce to watch out for his daughter. A kind man whose love for his daughter saw no limit, even after A-Day when so many who suffered hadn’t received the same support. Bruce’s chest ached as he thought about Kamala. If she wasn’t amongst the dead here, then surely she would be so broken when she found out, and that was if she didn’t already didn’t know.

“Oh no,” Tony breathed. 

Natasha moved on to the next body beside Kamala’s father and confirmed it was her mother. Steve bowed his head, and Tony turned away, pressing his hand against his forehead. Bruce closed his eyes and hugged himself, shaking his head and praying to anything out there that this was all a terrible dream. 

“We got one! Help!” 

They all turned at the sound of a firefighter yelling from behind them. EMTs rushed forward as the firefighter lowered a body onto the stretcher. The EMTs started shouting orders as they ran for the nearest ambulance. The four Avengers hurried towards them and Bruce hoped whoever it was that they would survive. Someone. Anyone. 

“It's not good,” they heard an EMT say sadly.

They got close enough that they could see who it was, and Bruce knew it wasn’t Kamala. It was a man, their body horribly burned and covered in black soot. He was coughing and wheezing through the oxygen mask, and the heart monitor they connected him to beeped slowly. They were clearly dying and the sad reality dawned on the EMTs as one called for a large dose of morphine to dull the pain. 

“It's Aamir!” Natasha gasped. 

_ No... _

Natasha brushed past an EMT who shouted angrily at her, but stopped when she saw who they all were, “The Avengers?”

“Aamir? Aamir can you hear me?” Natasha asked softly, and was careful not to touch him.

The boy’s eyes flickered to Black Widow and he drew in another ragged, wheezy breath before coughing it out. She winced for him and leaned closer to his face as she spoke to him gently. He coughed again, but Natasha didn’t flinch away as he whimpered in pain and tried to say something that Bruce could not hear. The EMTs administered the morphine and Aamir reached out weakly to Natasha’s hand. She placed her hand in his and he squeezed gently before the medicine did its job and he drifted off before the heart monitor flatlined.

Natasha continued to hold the boy’s hand for a moment. Bruce remembered when they first met the Khans and Aamir had challenged Natasha to a game of chess after Kamala mentioned she was undefeated. Aamir had beaten her that night, and she practiced with a fury with anyone who would agree to play against her. She vowed their rematch would end in her reclaiming her title. Now it would never happen.

She finally let go when the EMT said they had to move the body. She stepped back and Steve reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. “Nat? Did he say anything?”

Natasha’s fists clenched at her side and Bruce watched her shoulders shake. 

“Yes,” she said.

“What did she say?” Tony asked. 

Natasha turned to face them, face cold and teeth clenched as she spat out her answer, voice laced with venom. “Monica.”

Bruce inhaled sharply, as Tony screamed out a curse kicking the nearest piece of debris he could find. Steve’s jaw clenched and Natasha walked past them all marching back towards the quinjet. 

Of course this was Monica. Of course. 

Bruce could feel the building tension in his muscles, tendons locked in place and the veins in his arms bulged, taking on a green color. A deep, gravelly growl escaped his throat and he shook his head as he walked away from them all. Distantly, he heard Steve calling Thor on their comms and the next thing he felt was a tight grip on his arm, as the god of thunder appeared at his side. “Kamala was not in there.”

A wave of relief clashed with the swelling anger in his mind, but was gone just as quickly when he made the deduction that she was not out of danger, but perhaps in more. He opened his eyes and in the reflection of his glasses he could see the green glow of his irises and knew he needed to leave. He looked at Thor and the god nodded to him spinning his hammer at his side. He gripped under Bruce’s arms and rocketed up into the air. 

The world became fuzzy as the rage finally took over and all semblance of control left him. The smell of sea spray hit his nose and he felt Thor drop him. As wind whistled past his ears he surrendered himself to his pain, and a veil of black over took his vision as his mind became consumed in uncontrollable fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments, criticism, opinions and feedback of all kinds welcome! :)


	5. Chapter 3

_ Kamala woke up, blinking away the spots in her vision from the colorful strand of lights hanging above her bed. She yawned and pushed herself up, rolling her stiff neck. She looked around her and recognized she was on the Chimera. Had she fallen asleep here?  _

_ “JARVIS, what time is it?” _

_ The AI, who was usually so quick to respond, was silent and Kamala frowned. She threw the blanket off of her legs and called for JARVIS again, but was met with the same silence. She shivered as the cold hit her and wrapped her arms around herself. She felt so heavy, and sore. Had she passed out in battle again? Maybe Tony or Bruce had told the AI not to disturb her so she could rest.  _

_ She walked towards the door and an unsettling fear creeped up her spine. She felt like someone was watching her. She swallowed hard wincing at her sore throat and the door slid open as she walked out into the open area. The room was nearly pitch black and she squinted to try and see through the thick darkness. She looked around towards the other rooms and frowned at the lack of lights on the doors. She licked her lips and stepped forward to look over the railing, but all she saw was a pit of blackness. _

_ “Hello?” _

_ No one answered. Kamala called out again a little louder as panic started to settle in and she walked over to Steve’s room. She hesitated to knock at first, but was starting to worry something bad happened and rapped her knuckles against the cold metal twice. The door did not open and no one called out from inside. Kamala’s breathing quickened as she hurried over to Tony’s room and tried his. No answer.  _

_ The crew quarters. No answer.  _

_ She grabbed the railing and hurried towards the stairs where she stumbled in the dark, but managed to make it to the bottom. She held out her hand to guide her, her fingers brushing the war table in the center of the room.  _

_ She tried Thor. No answer.  _

_ Natasha. No answer.  _

_ The technology lab and the science lab were pitch black, and no light came from the command deck. _

_ She looked towards the direction of Bruce’s room and whimpered. She didn’t want to knock on his door. She didn’t want him to not be there. She brought her hands to the side of her head and pressed them over her ears as the hum of the Chimera’s engines grew impossibly loud. She squeezed her eyes shut and when she did she saw a flash of light. She gasped in surprise as the flashing lights became a strange mixture of colors. First blue and then orange, and then white. Pure blinding white light… _

_ “Bruce,” she whispered and tried to walk towards his room as the world around her spun.  _

_ She felt like she was walking through mud as she tried desperately to get to his door. Kamala’s whole body began to ache and she groaned in protest shaking her head. White nothingness creeped into the edges of her peripheral and when she blinked spots danced around her.  _

_ “Bruce… help…” _

“Subject 673 is waking up.”

Kamala gasped as her eyes flew open and the dark world was banished, replaced with a flood of jarring overhead lights that pierced her skull painfully. Her whole body tensed as a wave of agony washed through her muscles right down to her bones. The pain made her see stars and she moaned. She wanted to go back to sleep. She wanted someone to turn off the lights.

She shakily raised a hand to her face and covered her eyes, wincing at the sharp throbbing in her joints. She took deep breaths and tried to swallow, but it hurt. She was so thirsty.

She tried to open her eyes again, blinking rapidly and squinting against the harsh intrusion. After a few seconds her vision began to clear, but all she could see was large overhead LED lights that she did not recognize from anywhere on the helicarrier and she frowned in confusion. She tried lifting her arm to hold her hand over her face and shadow her eyes, but her wrists felt so heavy. Kamala grunted as she raised her right arm just enough to look at her hand. 

“What is…?” She wheezed hoarsely, turning her arm around slowly.

There was a thick, black cuff wrapped around her right wrist, small red lights flickered off and on around it. She hissed as she flexed her hand and the cuff dug into her skin. She turned her head slowly and raised her left arm. An identical cuff wrapped around her left wrist too, and she felt a surge of horror when she realized her grandmother’s bracelet was gone. She only ever took it off when she needed to shower and even then it was the first thing she put back on. She swallowed again and reached to her throat feeling the same cold, sharp metal collar like the ones around her wrist. 

The memories flooded back to her mind then. Doing homework with Bruce, Tony flying her home, the dark kitchen, Monica, the blue man, her family… the explosion.

Kamala let out a small sob, tears pricking at her eyes and hands trembling as she raised them to her face. They were gone. Killed.

Because of her. 

She slammed one fist onto the surface of whatever she was laying on, feeling the familiar pulse of her muscles as her body attempted to expand in response to her anger. She had talked about it with Bruce once when he wanted to study another DNA sample again. Kamala had told him about the initial issues of her emotions getting the best of her and activating her powers, like when she pushed the bullies in Heroes Park. Obviously, Bruce understood far too well the connection between emotions and powers. He helped her figure out how to rein in the bursts of frustration and she had gotten better at it, but no coherent thought could break the turmoil swirling through her mind now. 

Kamala could feel the tension between her skin and the cuffs as her right hand started to swell, but then suddenly the lights on the bracelets and her collar buzzed and a painful shock ripped through her. She yelped and started to frantically wave her hand to return it to its normal size and the shocks stopped. She panted and closed her eyes for a moment as her body relaxed after tensing up so badly. Despite the initial exhaustion, the shock had helped pump a little adrenaline through her veins and she used the small bit of energy to push herself up. 

She looked down at herself. The clothes she had been wearing were gone and she was instead dressed in some type of nylon, skin-tight white jumpsuit. The numbers ’00673’ were printed over her left breast and she frowned at the dehumanizing symbol of being assigned numbers as a test subject. She looked down towards her feet and unsurprisingly the same cuffs around her wrists were also present around her ankles. She was left completely unable to morph. Powerless.

Kamala looked around at her surroundings then. She found herself in one of the familiar thick, glass cells that AIM used to hold Inhumans. Beyond the glass was a sizable lab, with large screens running equations, schematics and other things that Kamala didn’t quite grasp. In the back of the room, closest to the door was a large desk and a showcase of AIM robots behind it proudly displayed. She sneered at the trophy case and looked away.

She sighed, pressing her head into her hand and her shoulders fell defeatedly. She felt immeasurably depressed and her own mind mocked her, telling her she deserved to be here. That she hadn’t let her family die, but  _ killed  _ them herself because she was so weak. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t really an Avenger. Just a tag along. A tool to fix what was really important. She had overstayed her welcome and others were paying the price for her stupidity and dreaming. 

Tears rolled down her face and she didn’t try to wipe them away. Kamala brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs tightly while hiding her face in her arms. 

“Good morning.”

She looked up at the voice and scowled at Monica who walked up to the glass cage from the shadows tapping away on a tablet. She spoke to herself as she approached with that same, awful smile stuck on her face. “Subject 673 presents powers in response to emotional triggers such as anger. Level of self-control is yet to be determined.”

Kamala felt the urge to tell her to shut up, but had no energy to fight back. Her will was completely drained and any arguments died on her tongue before she opened her mouth. She continued to scowl, but her eyes slid away from Monica. Kamala listened to the small click and clack of Monica’s heels as she walked around the glass cage watching intently. She was like a predator with its prey, and Kamala felt like she was in a ridiculously large fish bowl just waiting to be poked.

“Electrical Shock Restraints are proving sufficient deterrents against Subject 673’s morphogenesis abilities. Intense and sudden polymorphs will drain Subject 673’s stamina, resulting in fainting episodes. Blood work and DNA examinations…”

Kamala pressed her hands to her ears as she tried to drone out Monica’s voice. The constant drawl of observations reminded her of the hospital she had been in after A-Day. She hated it. Bruce always talked to her and asked her questions, writing down his observations  _ and  _ hers. Excluding their first meeting, she never felt like a test subject whenever he wanted to look over something with her. Here, in Monica’s hands, she felt like a guinea pig. Monica’s voice was mixed with giddy excitement and it made Kamala sick.

_ You did nothing to stop her. You practically walked into this lab yourself. _

She clenched her teeth, her jaw popping and fingers digging into her scalp as she told the voice in her head to shut up. 

The sound of Monica’s heels stopped at Kamala’s left side and Monica completed her recording. “Observations will continue tomorrow after all initial samples are further analyzed and tested. We will commence D.A.R.K. Terrigen trials and start collection of activated mutated DNA.”

Kamala looked up with wide eyes and Monica’s smile twisted into a smirk. She slid the tablet beneath her arm and walked over to a console near the end of the cell and pressed a button. There was a loud sound and the cell shuddered as it started to lower into the floor. She didn’t look away from Monica’s face as Kamala watched her rise above her until she was gone. The room was thrown into impenetrable darkness as it continued its descent and Kamala let out a sharp gasp. 

Of course she was going to use the D.A.R.K. Terrigen. This was what all this was about, just as Monica had told her back at the apartment.

“ _ I’m going to take back those powers that you have only used to waste all my hard work.” _

She would harvest Kamala’s powers to use on her robots. Monica’s ultimate goal.

The cell screeched as yellow lights broke through the bottom and the cell finally came to a stop in the center of a dark room. She looked around and saw other cells around her, face scrunching in pain at all of the prisoners trapped. She felt a little of her spirit come back as the urge to help overcame her and she swung her legs off the table she was on. She hissed at her shaking legs, which buckled in protest at her attempt to stand, and she fell forward onto her hands and knees. “Ow…”

Kamala froze when she suddenly heard a penetrating laugh that sent her hair standing on end. 

“Well, well. If it isn’t Banner’s little pet?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, concerns and cries of outrage all appreciated!


	6. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of the GIVING here’s an extra chapter early! The next one will appear as normally scheduled on Sunday! Have a wonderful and safe holiday everybody! :)

The last thing Bruce remembered was being plunged into the terribly cold water off the coast of Jersey City. Snippets of memory that usually came back to him were slow to manifest, but he could still feel the residue anger from Hulk finally settling in his mind. 

He heard soft beeping and the steady thrum of engines before he opened his eyes. Bruce glanced around and found himself in the med-bay aboard the  _ Chimera.  _ The sun was touching above the clouds and the clock on the hologram in the corner read 7:52AM. 

“Hey Brucie.”

He looked over to Tony sitting in a chair beside his bed. A screwdriver and one of his replusors in his lap. There were heavy bags beneath his eyes and the sclera were bloodshot. He hadn’t slept obviously. 

“Tony... what happened?” Bruce asked, pushing himself up.

Tony looked down and frowned. “Well after you and Thor headed off we helped clear up the wreckage. We - couldn’t salvage anything, but Steve managed to save a cat. What a Boy Scout am I right?”

Bruce looked at him unamused, but the humor seemed more for Tony himself, to help him process. Bruce looked down at his hands and closed his eyes trying to keep the rage at bay. The pain was still raw and the anger fresh. 

“Well, sans cat, last night was a disaster. Thor said Hulk swam for the beach, roughed up some local terrain, think he might’ve scared a couple late night ne’er-do-wells, but no one was hurt. Then he said Hulk kinda just - stopped. Sat down. I don’t know if that was subconsciously you but - he’s looked greener,” Tony sighed.

“It’s probably, uh, the both of us,” Bruce whispered.

So, last night wasn’t some terrible dream like he had hoped. Instead of heading off to school and calling him later, Kamala was gone. Missing. Being tortured in the hands of Monica. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to focus on breathing deeply, compartmentalizing his thoughts and think rationally. But how could he? He wouldn’t see her walking about the helicarrier or popping in to ask a homework question or going off on one of her tangents in all her wonderful bubbly nature. 

He shook his head and looked over to Tony. “Where are the others now?”

“On the command deck probably. Hill’s been blowing up our comms since we returned. The people - well let’s just say the Avengers efficacy has dropped a point or two. The media’s saying it was Kamala who blew up the building - not specifically yet! But, an Inhuman tied to all these deaths, us on the side of the Resistance... it’s not good,” Tony said shrugging.

Bruce reached over to the table for his glasses and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. “No offense Tony, but I find it difficult to care about our image while Kamala is — gone.”

Bruce’s voice cracked at the last word and he grit his teeth at the slip. Tony, thankfully, chose to ignore it though and nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah, I voted to block Hill, but they’re helping us try and figure out wherever they took Kamala so kinda counterproductive, I suppose.”

“Any leads?” Bruce asked hopefully. 

“Nat called one of her scientist defector buddies and they told her about an archive where data about Inhuman prisoners might be kept. Cap was planning to hit it first,” Tony said.

Okay. Okay, Bruce could work with that. It wasn’t hopeless and there could be a chance at a lead. He used that little grain of positive news and pulled off the blanket getting on his feet.

“Well then, let’s go,” Bruce said.

“Sorry, but you’ve been barred from going. Both of us actually,” Tony sighed.

“W-what? Why?” Bruce demanded, scowling.

“Emotionally compromised he said,” Tony explained.

“I — can’t sit here and do nothing,” Bruce hissed. 

How could Steve do that? He couldn’t stand here in the place where Kamala should be and wait for someone else to save her. He could do it. He and Hulk. They should be out there, bringing her home. Dammit!

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut again when he saw the flash of green in the lens of glasses. He needed to have control. He was losing his calm and if he wasn’t careful he could get lost in the rage like he did when Cap “died”. 

“Oh, I don’t plan on sitting here and doing nothing. I already have JARVIS trying to hack as many AIM servers as he can and the suit is warmed up and ready to sail. As soon as another lead pops up I’m headed out.... I still can’t help the guilt, it’s like Cap all over again, but worse,” Tony whispered his voice trailing off as he looked away.

Bruce frowned at his friend and walked around the bed to sit on the edge across from Tony. He looked down at his lap and sighed. “It wasn’t your fault Tony.”

“I was there!” Tony growled.

“We don’t even know if the Scientist Supreme was waiting there or showed up after. Steve was right, you couldn’t have known,” Bruce said. 

Despite his attempt to reassure Tony it wasn’t his fault, and he truly believed it wasn’t, he felt the same guilt. He knew none of them could have seen this happening, but in the back of all their minds they knew they shouldn’t have left Monica unchecked for so long. They should’ve gone for the heart of AIM sooner. 

“I know that, but still...” Tony said angrily.

They sat in silence letting the anger, guilt and pain fester between them. The door to the med-bay opened and Steve walked in. He stopped in front of the two men and crossed his arms. “Nat is getting the quinjet ready to leave. Director Hill said the base is heavily guarded, so we’re hoping that whatever information they’re hiding there is important enough to garner such security.”

“You benched me?” Bruce asked, not looking up at Cap.

Steve looked at Tony who conveniently started tinkering with his repulsor again. Steve sighed and looked back at Bruce as he raised his head and met his eyes. Even though he hadn’t slept, the super soldier looked ready to go. Well, he had banked 75 years worth of sleeping so Bruce supposed that counted for something.

“You’re too close to this —.”

“I’m too close to this? We’re not dropping in to save some resistance fighters or SHIELD agents, this is  _ Kamala  _ we’re talking about. Cap - Steve you know how important she is to me, to us,” Bruce snapped, standing and pointing at his chest.

He had never so openly admitted how he felt often. However, he started to wonder if the others truly realized what a difference Kamala had made in his life. Steve’s face softened, but he remained resolute on his decision. “I don’t want to see either one of you charge in and get hurt. It won’t do Kamala any good if you’re not there when we do find her.”

Bruce wanted to argue, but he knew Steve was right. Through the odd emotional wavelength he shared with Hulk he knew that the guilt was all too new to deal with right now. They couldn’t risk it, especially if the place was as heavily guarded as Steve said it was. Bruce clenched his fists, brows pinching in frustration and finally nodded.

“Fine. But the minute you find out where that bitch is keeping her we’re joining the rescue mission,” Tony spoke up.

Steve nodded to him. “I expect you there before we are. Keep watch on the war table and we’ll report when we arrive.”

Steve left them and Bruce jumped as Tony angrily threw his screwdriver across the room. “Dammit! I hate it when he’s right.”

Bruce envied Tony. He wished he could express his anger like that. He, Bruce, wanted to be the one to throw something or  _ smash  _ something, but he couldn’t. Always subjected to bottling up his rage and feeding it to his other half. He didn’t think himself incapable of anger, just a prisoner to its consequences. 

Bruce watched Tony stand and look at him for a moment before turning towards the door. “I’ll meet you at the war table.”

Tony left him then. Bruce needed a shower to wash away the horrible smell of whatever was dumped into the waters off of Jersey. He headed for the wash room within the med-bay and grabbed the spare clothes someone had laid out for him. Probably Natasha, who was always looking out for them in her own silent ways. 

He closed the door behind him and placed the clothes down on the edge of the small sink. He turned on the water and turned back towards the sink to place his glasses on the shelf. Bruce glanced up at the mirror and stared back at himself, trapped by the dreadful image. 

He didn’t always sustain injuries from the Hulk, but he must’ve rammed his shoulder into something hard. A bruise, now a splotchy fading yellow, poked out of the t-shirt collar he was wearing. It didn’t hurt that bad and the shower would help, but it just added to his overall defeated look. The spark that had started to return to his eyes was gone and back was the familiar hollowness following the events of A-Day. Although he had technically been asleep, there were dark shadows beneath his eyes and the shock of the evening had left him ghostly white. He also needed to shave. He sighed. He looked as horrible as he felt.

He took the glasses from his nose and rubbed at his face tiredly. Bruce ignored the protesting from his stiff shoulder and started to undress. The hot water bit wonderfully at his skin and the muscles beneath began to relax. He pressed his head and hands against the wall and let the water stream over his head and down his back. While he let the rush of water fall past his ears he tried to focus on the series of calculations he would go over to help him distract his mind. Bruce was so exhausted that the effort it took to clean himself didn’t feel worth it. He winced as he nicked the skin under his jaw and the soap made the open cut sting. He started trying to recall map lines and alternate routes to locations. None of it helped. Bruce knew he was just going through the steps and not actually feeling the effects of his normal coping mechanisms. 

When he decided to give up trying to find peace, he shut off the water and grabbed a spare towel. He dried off quickly and got dressed, feeling a little more like himself as he smoothed down the front of his purple button-up. He used the towel to wipe the steam from his glasses and headed out to join Tony at the war table. Maybe Bruce could convince him to get some rest. 

He walked out into the central quarters and looked over to two shield agents passing by towards the command deck. They saluted him, but didn’t meet his eyes when he nodded back. When they had walked a ways away he heard them whispering, but only caught a snippet of what the woman said to the man. “ _ Dr. Banner must be taking it so hard. They were so close… _ ”

He frowned, glancing back at them before they disappeared into the technology lab. He should admonish the gossip, and as a higher-ranking individual he could, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. They would talk regardless, and everyone aboard was upset. Kamala had made it her mission to learn everyone’s name and try to greet as many of them as she could everyday. She would remember even the lowest ranking crew member and their mission rotations. She asked about family and friends, and although some were weary to share too much information, they all appreciated the sentiment from the youngest Avenger. He once heard one of the lab crew tell another that Kamala’s friendliness reminded him that the Avengers were still human (most of them), and not untouchable. 

Everyone was feeling the void now. Not just the Avengers. 

Bruce headed for the stairs, planning to grab a new belt from his room, but he stopped at the top landing looking over towards her room. He shouldn’t go in, not without her permission or even being here, but he couldn’t stop his own body as he moved towards the door and placed his hand on the ID pad. The door slid open with a mechanical hiss and he paused at the doorway as it closed behind him. 

Bruce walked forward on shaky legs and stopped in the center of her room just looking around. Everything in here screamed Kamala. It was like she was here, just by the popping colors and the borderline gaudy merchandise. He pressed his hand to the wall to steady himself as his eyes roamed over the post it notes she had stuck there. Even her hand-writing just seemed so much like her. 

He stepped towards the table and poked the figurine quinjet that hung from the ceiling. A miniature Black Widow, only recognizable by the painted red hair, sat in the pilots seat of the toy. He allowed himself a small smile and then swallowed down the lump in his throat. 

He sat down slowly at the bench and looked out the window beside her unmade bed. He remembered Natasha yelling at her once for keeping her space messy and warning her not to let her habits travel out of her quarters. Kamala came to him later and begged him to save her when she forgot do the dishes the night beforehand. He knew Natasha was utterly harmless when it came to Kamala, but he had managed to convince everyone into agreeing it had actually been Tony’s night to do dishes. Kamala bought him some tea in thanks and he had almost laughed when he realized how scared she had been. If only she knew that Natasha had known all along. 

The happy memories just made him more upset. It felt so empty, inside and in the helicarrier, without Kamala there. 

Bruce leaned forward on his legs and pushed his face into his hands, his glasses slid up his head tugging sharply at the hairs. He pressed his fingers against his eyes as tears threatened to squeeze out and he took a shaky breath. 

JARVIS cleared his throat (ironically for an AI who had no throat), and spoke out into the room. “Sir, I have something from Ms. Khan for you.”

“What?” Bruce asked looking up towards the bodiless voice, brows pinching in confusion. 

JARVIS continued. “Ms. Khan prerecorded a message for the Avengers in the event of something happening to her. However, I think it would be appropriate if I shared it privately with you, sir.”

Bruce’s heart clenched tightly in his chest. She had prepared for something happening to her and recorded something for them. It hurt. It hurt to think she had thought about her own mortality so much that she felt she needed to do this. All of his worries after their fight with MODOK came to a forefront and he remembered talking to her about it.

_ “But you didn’t put me in danger. I did. Long before you even knew me.” _

_ “And if we tried to stop you, to keep you out of any danger, what would you do?” _

_ “I think you know the answer to that.” _

He had asked her to safe for him. He had so desperately tried not to worry anymore than he already did and it turns out that she had done all the extra worrying for him. The laptop on her desk beeped and the SHIELD logo vanished replaced with a video paused on her smiling face. 

Bruce’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at her frozen smile. It was so strange, to feel like he hadn’t seen her in so long when he was just with her last night. Sometimes he went a week without seeing her while she went to school and he buried himself in work. The whole reality that she was not here because she was missing hit him again with more force and a tear slipped down his cheek.

His hands trembled as he slid his middle finger across the touchpad and hesitated for a moment before pressing play. 

_ “Okay. Let’s see how should I start — hello, no, no, that sounds weird. Umm, how about hi?” _

_ “Ms. Khan it is recording.” _

_ “What?! Oh great. Awesome, just, um cut that part out will ya JARVIS?” _

_ “Of course Ms. Khan.” _

Bruce smiled. Kamala fidgeted in front of screen, and bit at her lip lost in thought as she tried to think of where to begin. Finally she let out a sigh and smiled sheepishly at the camera.

“ _ Alright here goes. Hey guys. Um, by now JARVIS will probably have explained to you why I did this and all that jazz so I guess I should say… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you’re having to watch this and I really really wish you don’t have to. Whatever stupid thing I did, take pity on me because whatever it was it probably sounded really good in my head at that moment. Or really heroic….” _

Kamala’s voice trailed off for a moment as her brows furrowed. She was looking away from the camera and down at her fingers tracing the etchings on her bracelet. Bruce took a deep breath as the silence stretched on and Kamala seemed to struggle with her next words.

“ _ You know, well of course you know because I don’t stop saying it, but I never thought that I would have this opportunity. Ever. Meeting you guys on A-Day was a dream come true, let alone being allowed to join the team. I know our beginnings never really started out that great, ya know —“ _

Kamala grinned as she raised her hand and started counting her fingers off.

“ _ Hulk chasing me across the Chimera thinking I was some thief, Bruce taking my blood, Tony punching Bruce, Nat having to break cover to save me, you guys breaking up  _ **_again_ ** _ when Thor showed up, and of course Cap coming back from the dead. Doesn’t scream cozy meetings if ya get what I mean… doesn’t really matter now though. You’re all together now and that’s the important part… and I guess the point I’m trying to get to is you don’t, really — need me anymore.” _

Bruce inhaled sharply looking at the video in disbelief at her words. Kamala shrugged to herself looking around. 

“ _ I know Nat keeps telling me that I deserve to be here, but it still feels like a dream and I feel like I’m gonna wake up one day and it won’t be real. But I keep waking up on this crazy helicarrier, in my own room, and I get to see you guys whenever I want. I get to do the good my dad wanted me to do — oh, if you can I left another recording with JARVIS for my family, if you could get it to them? Thanks guys. Anyways back to what I was saying, I really gotta work on not going off track like Tony keeps telling me. Sorry Tony.” _

He watched the first tear fall down her face and then the next as she took a shaky breath. Kamala wiped at her face furiously as she tried for another smile and shook her hands. 

“ _ Sorry. I shouldn’t be crying, you guys probably have had enough tears for me and if you haven’t well, rude!” _

She laughed to herself, still wiping at her tears and Bruce mirrored her actions.

“ _ Wow this is already probably way too long and I haven’t even gotten to what I wanted to say.” _

_ “You’ve recorded for 5 minutes and 47 seconds so far. We may continue for as long as you’d like Ms. Khan.” _

_ “Cool, thanks JARVIS. Alright, alright.”  _ Kamala took another deep breath. “ _ You guys are, hands down, the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t regret a single day. Not even A-Day, as awful as that sounds. I just want you to know that these powers helped me be proud of who I am and you accepting that, means everything to me. If we have to say goodbye, you have to know that whatever happened I tried my best and all I wanted to do was make you proud. I hope that you’re all safe and still together, because that’s what I want. If you’ve all secretly just put up with me because you didn’t know how to get rid of me, or kept me instead of getting a puppy that Thor wants — you guys should totally get a puppy — t-then I hope it means you’ll stay together because you want to be together… if that makes any sense. But it’s good, if that’s the case. It means I won’t have to worry about some Joe Schmoe coming and putting you back together again.” _

She laughed a little but Bruce did not laugh. He hated hearing that she still had doubts.

_ “Now, if I was even a tiny bit important, then I want you to continue to stay together for me. I hope that means something, because you better know that I’ll be coming down there to haunt you all if you don’t. The world needs you, even if most of it doesn’t know it yet. Good isn’t a thing you are, its a thing you do, and the Avengers have only ever tried to do good. Thats what counts.” _

Kamala stopped and smiled to herself softly, the tears were gone but her eyes glistened when she looked up. “ _ I love you guys. I’m always gonna be there rooting you on, whether you see me or not. Don’t doubt it.” _

There was a pause before JARVIS spoke again. “ _ If I might say Ms. Khan, that was a very nice recording.” _

_ “Aww thanks JARVIS. Hey what time is it?” _

_ “It is now 8:23PM.” _

_ “Oh crap! I didn’t finish my calc homework! Bruce is gonna kill me. Okay, okay! Gotta start that - JARVIS did you stop recording?” _

_ “Yes, Ms. Khan.”  _ Liar.

“ _ Cool! Wanna help me with my homework?” _

_ “By help do you mean solve it for you?” _

_ “Don’t. Tell. Bruce.” _

_ “It would be my pleasure, Ms. Khan.” _

The video ended and Bruce started to sob. He buried his face into his arms against the table and cried. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that for all the people they saved the Avengers couldn’t save their own. First Cap. Now Kamala. It hurt so badly, like someone stabbing into his chest and twisting the knife. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. He couldn’t stand the fact that he was virtually indestructible on the outside and so easily ripped apart on the inside. He didn’t want to keep losing people he cared about. He couldn’t. Bruce’s shoulders trembled as the sobs racked through his body and his hands gripped his sleeves so tight his knuckles grew white. 

“ _ Bruce? You there bud? _ ”

At Tony’s hoarse voice through the comms, Bruce raised his head slowly waiting to hear if Tony had found something. Tony cleared his throat. “ _ Um, JARVIS said you were in Kamala’s room and I just was wondering if you needed anything - Jesus, I sound like a 60 year old smoking house maid. Look, Cap and the others made it to the archive and I wanted to know if you wanted to come listen with me. If you can _ .”

Bruce rubbed the back of his forearm across his eyes and inhaled through his nose, exhaling hard out of his mouth. “Yeah, Tony. I’ll be there, just, uh, g-give me a sec.”

“ _ Cool. Cool. Take your time _ .” 

“Thanks, Tony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, concerns and cries of outrage... or just crying, leave em all down below!


	7. Chapter 5

Kamala sat against the farthest cell wall from her neighbor and stared at him with apprehension. She didn’t know how much time had passed, or even what time it was. Most of the other prisoners were sleeping or trying with little effort to break the glass cages they were in. She knew it wouldn’t be so simple and she looked at them pitifully. Kamala’s neighbor laughed at her sad expression. “You should be feeling sorry for yourself, little pet.”

She turned her head back towards him and scowled. “Unlike  _ you,  _ it’s my job to help people.”

The Abomination laughed even harder and she winced at his raucous bark. “Save them? You’re in here yourself aren’t you, pet?”

She looked away, hugging her knees closer to her chest and ignored his taunting. She didn’t need him to tell her that she failed, she already knew that. Kamala was laughing enough at herself that she didn’t need him to join in. She looked back out to the various cells and to the hopeless faces of her prison mates. She didn’t know how long they had been here and it hurt to see them suffer. Kamala’s self-preservation was pushed aside by her hero self and she wished there was something she could do for them. She looked out to one of the last cells in the row across from her and noticed the cell that had disappeared above them had not returned. It had to have been more than two hours now and she swallowed hard as she thought the worst. 

She looked back to Abomination who paced in his cell. The glass walls had huge impact craters in them and fractures splitting along the glass from corner to corner. She wondered why he hadn’t kept trying? Why was he here? She wanted to know, to ask, but she also was disgusted with idea of talking to him at all. He was a monster. A killing machine, with no other prerogative than destruction and slaughter. She had seen first hand what he had done and what he was capable of. She didn’t sympathize for him nor did she want to. 

She laid her head on her arms and tried to think of something happier. She tried to think of Abu, Ammi, Aamir… she tried to picture them at home, waiting for her to get home from school. Smiling. Laughing. Alive. 

She grit her teeth and refused to cry anymore. She had already let a few tears slip, and the ones Abomination had saw he scoffed at or laughed. Of course the torture of others pleased him, why wouldn’t it? She refused to give him any more ammunition against her and breathed deeply until the feeling passed. Kamala tried to think about the Avengers now. Did they know she was gone yet? Surely they must have some idea, her burning apartment building must’ve said something. She wondered what they were doing and how they were feeling. For a moment, she tried to imagine walking about the  _ Chimera,  _ talking to the SHIELD crew and checking up on the team. She could see Nat heading off to practice in the H.A.R.M. Room, Tony was probably working on one of his suits, Steve would be reading or training with his old punching bag, Thor would be showing off to crew members and Bruce…. A lump formed in her throat as she thought of her mentor. Bruce would be in the science lab, working on everything and anything, and waiting for her to come with homework questions. 

Kamala remembered when he had asked her to stay safe. ‘For him’ he said with all the worry she always saw in his eyes. She knew he wasn’t very open about his emotions most of the time, least of all vocal. It took a lot for him to say those things, and that is what she had seen bothering him for a while after the fight with MODOK. She knew he cared, just as they all did in their own ways. She told Steve once that he oozed ‘Dad-Energy’ and it was true, but she also saw the same ‘Dad-Energy’ in Bruce, it was just hidden behind nervous swaying and awkward conversations. She smiled. She missed them more than ever now, especially since they were all she had left. 

The yellow lights that were off around her cell lit up and she felt a rush of fear as the cell began to lift. She remembered Monica’s plans and part of herself felt a certain peace at the idea of dying. If she went now, she would see her family again, and she ached to see them one more time. Yet, the rational part of her mind weighed heavy with fear, and admonished her acceptance of death as foolhardy and selfish. She wouldn’t be able to leave without hurting others and she would never willingly choose to hurt someone she cared for. She didn’t want to die. 

The cell raised into an enclosed room with robots surrounding her and guns trained at her head. Kamala knew that she was somewhat bullet proof on the field; if the shooter was far away enough the bullet would bounce off her skin. At point-blank, and not willing to test the shock restraints again, she would die sooner than later if they shot at her. Of course they wouldn’t though, Monica needed her alive and her powers active to extract the necessary samples for her experiments. Kamala glared at the robots, watching one of them type something on the console that folded out of the wall. The glass around her depressurized and the front of it slid back into the floor beneath her. 

They moved quickly, two of them entered the cell and grabbed her arms yanking her forward. She hadn’t slept, ate or drank anything properly since lunch yesterday and her body was feeling the effects of that plus her subsequent torture. She grimaced as she stumbled and felt a pang of shame at appearing so weak. They were robots and therefore didn’t care if she stumbled or walked like a supermodel, but to her it was a hit at her pride. The synthoids moved forward, practically dragging her across the floor as they moved down the hallway. 

She tried to remember the few ‘spy tips’ that Nat had given her before a mission once. She surveyed her surroundings for weaknesses and soft points. Places she could potentially smash through or cameras to avoid detection. The hallway they were in was practically barren, there were no windows and only one door opposite the hall that they turned down. There was one computer and Kamala tried to gauge her hacking skills without the assistance of JARVIS at hand. If she could get to one she could in theory contact JARVIS, but that required time and a distraction she did not have. She would need help and defense, and a lack of powers added to her list of cons. She also didn’t know the layout of the building and where the building was even located. All this time she had assumed she had woken up the day after, but for all she knew she could’ve been asleep longer. 

She hissed as one of the robots gave a particularly nasty squeeze to her arm. The way ahead of them was just as empty, and she wondered briefly if the lack of security inside meant the place was guarded well enough on the outside, or hidden so well they didn’t expect to be found. 

The door at the end of the hall opened and she squinted her eyes as a bright light violated the dark space. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted and they stepped into a huge room. When she said huge, she meant  _ huge _ . The idea of this place being hidden became less of a possibility in her mind as she craned her head to look up. This had to be some sort of skyscraper they were in now, it had to be as high as the Avengers tower in New York. Ironically, she had never been there since joining the team, it was of course now AIM’s public headquarters, but she had once gone on a field trip in seventh grade. She remembered being in awe, just staring at from the bus window and the inside was even more impressive, being able to see all the levels up until the Avengers private floor from the lobby. Kamala was unimpressed when they had made their last stop at the Empire State Building that day. 

The room teemed with even more robots roaming around and working on assigned tasks. This room was heavily fortified with shielded turrets, idling swarm drones, Peacekeepers, and Adaptoids, standing like sentry around the room. There was a large platform in the center with another glass cell filled with computers and equipment off to the left. In this small room was Monica, watching over the droids operating the systems within the room. She looked up as one of the synthoids escorting her announced their arrival and smiled coldly at them. She leaned forward pressing a finger down onto a red button and her voice amplified into the room. “Hello Kamala, are you ready to make history?”

Kamala glared at her and Monica nodded to the robot on her left who began typing away at the buzzer. Kamala’s escorts pulled her forward again and this time she struggled against them. They repeated their programmed warnings to her about resisting them, but Kamala paid them no mind and continued to try and break free. She had managed to rip one arm away when without warning her restraints buzzed, and she was subjected to another round of agonizing shocks that sapped her of all her strength. She screamed through her teeth as her legs gave way and she fell to her knees; her arm was wrenched up painfully by the robot who still had a grip on her and she was pulled to her feet by the one she had managed to break free from before. Despite the pain and the exhaustion she continued to struggle even if it was pointless. She hadn’t fought before, but she wouldn’t not fight anymore. 

They dragged her up onto the platform and once in the center they finally let go of her arms and pushed her to her knees with enough force to knock the wind from her. She whimpered as her knees slammed into the ground and leaned forward on her shaky arms, breathing through the wave of nausea that hit her. When Kamala finally looked up and over to Monica, there was blaring alarm and a blue containment shield shimmered up from the edges of the platform all the way up to the ceiling. Kamala sneered as Monica crossed her arms and her eyes shone with triumph.

  
~

Kamala didn’t know where she was, when it was, and frankly found herself grasping onto the fringes of who she was.

The world around her was neither tangible nor conceivable. Lungs working mechanically on her body’s base instinct to keep surviving and in consequence pumping the pollution right through her veins. Colors that weren’t even part of her setting swirled around her, all of them far too harsh and bleeding through the hazed veil. Kamala’s body and everything she touched felt like it was on fire. Someone told her once that dying was like falling asleep if you were lucky, and if she were able to she would laugh. If this was dying, it was like being flung into the sun and nothing like the bliss of sleep. 

A-Day had been the best and worst day of her life. She didn’t remember when or how she had breathed in the Terrigen mist, but the following days had been relentlessly unforgiving. No one had ever remembered their time within the cocoon and what it was like, they only remembered their time after the pause. Some people got sick, like a bad case of the flu, others had hallucinations or heard voices, some felt nothing at all… it was always different.

Kamala had felt nothing, but pain. It had felt like her own body was attacking itself. She would swear on her life that she could feel the tissue and cells from her skin to her bones being ripped apart and stretched like a taut rubber-band refusing to snap back. It had lasted for three days straight until the relief came and her powers manifested. The mind was wonderful in its ability to heal and repress the trauma; she could tell someone what it felt like, but the vividness of those three days had melted away. 

Now, it felt like those memories had been torn from the recesses of her mind and doubled. All she could feel was the explosions of pain from fried nerve endings like sparking, white-hot, live wires. The feeling melted the sanity of her mind and left her incapable of even screaming. Using her powers felt like pulling that rubber-band and having control, she knew her limits and knew just how to push it when she needed to. Now, that control was wrested from her and the rubber-band was stretched so far that it started to tear. She crested over the edge of breaking, but never reached the point and it was enough to drive any person to the point of madness. 

Kamala felt her head roll to the side and a rib aching groan rumble from her chest. She watched as the world flickered on and off like someone was changing the slides in a projector with nauseating speed. Her body shifted and she tried to roll onto her side so she could reduce the amount of surface area against her skin. It felt like an eternity until her body finally hit the floor, rolling off the table and smacking the metal ground sending vibrations buzzing right through her. She wheezed, feeding the fire expanding in her lungs and laid her burning cheek against the cold hard floor relishing the short relief of its icy touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you all still like me? I promise it’ll get better for Kamala soon ;)


	8. Chapter 6

Bruce’s eyes burned as he stared at the war table, unblinking and waiting. The others were currently picking their way through the AIM patrols leading up to the archive and JARVIS had muted the sounds of fighting to try and decrease the anxiety of waiting. It didn’t really help despite the AI’s considerate intentions. Tony was leaning against one of the terminals, the blue light from the table casting eerie shadows over his face and highlighting his exhausted features. Around them, SHIELD agents gathered to also listen and everyone fidgeted anxiously as they waited for the Captain to report on their progress. 

“ _ The team has breached the archives and are headed for the data servers now, _ ” JARVIS said.

Almost there. They were close. Bruce looked up and met Tony’s eyes, each searching for some semblance of stability that neither could provide. Bruce had never been the type of person to put all his eggs in one basket, but he was desperate and failing now just didn’t register as an option. He rubbed at his chin, swaying nervously and trying to coach himself through slow, steady breaths. Every self-control exercise he had learned over the years was being put to the test as he watched the flat audio-line beside Cap’s name on the projection above the table, waiting for the dip and rise of sound. Of answers.

There was a crackle across the audio and the command deck was flooded with alarms and static from the overhead comms. There was a shout, a crack of lightning, and then silence, before Natasha’s voice came through. “ _ We’ve secured the location. JARVIS, prepare to upload _ .”

“ _ Right away, Ms. Romanoff, _ ” JARVIS responded.

“Nat is there anything?” Tony asked. 

There was a cacophony of tapping, explosions and shouts. Wherever they were it seemed that backup had arrived to stop them. Natasha yelled something to Thor and there was a series of gunshots. Tony looked ready to burst from anticipation and the muscles in Bruce’s neck jumped as he clenched his jaw.

“ _ It looks like they’ve tried to throw us off. There's a bunch of locations here and some of the active ones I know we’ve taken down. We’ll have to do a little digging — but it's still a lot. I’m trying to access the recent prisoner lists to — oh, fuck. Oh fuck. Cap! Steve look -! _ ”

Natasha’s voice was cut off by a huge explosion and Bruce inhaled sharply as Tony started to yell. “ _ Nat! Nat!? Shit. Cap! You there?! Thor!? Someone answer their comms damn it! _ ”

Suddenly, there was a loud ringing sound and a high pitched screech that pierced the audio. People aboard the ship yelped or shouted as their hands went up to their ears. Bruce winced and pressed his palms against his ears, but the sound was stabbing at his ear drums viciously. JARVIS lowered the volume before Thor’s triumphant laugh came through. “ _ Ha! We are victorious! _ ”

“ _ Are you okay? _ ” Bruce asked, heart pounding in his chest.

“ _ We have defeated the tiny robots, Odin smiles upon us! _ ”

Nat scoffed, “ _ If that’s Odin smiling on us I’d hate to see him mad. _ ”

“ _ Nat, JARVIS, were you able to finish? _ ” Steve asked, panting a little at the end.

“ _ The upload was successful, Captain Rogers. _ ”

The command deck, and the inside of the Chimera, exploded in cheers. Bruce let out a breath of relief and Tony rounded the table to clap a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but this small victory on their one lead was a step in the right direction and Bruce felt like he could breathe a little easier. 

JARVIS set to work decrypting the files and Steve announced their return time before ending the comms. The SHIELD agents dispersed, returning to their duties with a new fervor, high on success. Bruce convinced Tony to take a shower and get some rest while they waited for the rest of the team to return. The ex-billionaire was reluctant, but conceded in the end and left to his room. SHIELD agents swarmed Bruce with data and information as JARVIS slowly picked through the locations listed in the archives. He helped to scratch out the areas they had been, but grew frustrated with the amount of locations still left behind. They didn’t have time to check each and every one of them, but they couldn’t afford not to check them either. He was worried that if places they had destroyed were still on the list then maybe there were fake locations also listed. Maybe another hidden lab out in space…. 

Bruce shook his head obstinately. He refused to let doubts hinder him. Kamala had been able to find the secret lab all on her own, and now it was his turn not to give up and find her. He wouldn’t fail, he wouldn’t. He asked JARVIS to start checking on the energy and activity levels of the new locations after he finished decrypting the prisoner lists. Some of the test subject’s, Bruce shuddered at that thought, profiles were marked as highly classified so he was hopeful that an Avenger would make that list. JARVIS was sending in the information for collected test subjects from four weeks ago when the command deck opened and the team walked in. Bruce glanced over at the time and was shocked to see that two hours had gone by, he looked back over to the team and frowned. Cap and Nat were riddled in bruises and cuts, dirt and grime covering them from head to toe. Thor looked alright, but bits of dust and rocks fell off his hair and cape when he moved to cross his arms. 

“You guys alright?” Bruce asked, laying a hand on Natasha’s arm.

“Been through worse,” she sighed. She gave him a small smile before walking over to look over a SHIELD agent’s shoulder.

“They were like a horde of bilgesnipes, but they did not stand a chance against the mighty Thor,” Thor announced, grinning at Bruce.

“I’m sorry, I- I don’t know what those are,” Bruce said.

Cap interjected before Thor could go into detail. “There were a lot of them, they were persistent, but we’re okay. I’m just glad we were able to upload the data before they self-destructed the building. Whatever they wanted to hide, they went to great lengths to do so.”

“That’s promising, isn’t it?” Bruce said tentatively.

Cap looked troubled and Bruce’s elation started to drop at the stormy look in Steve’s eyes. Natasha walked back over to the war table and started typing into one of the terminals, speaking to JARVIS as she did so. Steve stepped towards Bruce and laid a hand on his shoulder. “We found… something. But it’s not good.”

At the same moment, the command deck door opened and Tony walked in, rubbing at his eyes tiredly. “What’s not good?”

A lump formed in Bruce’s throat and his gut twisted painfully when Steve looked down at his feet, and Tony reached over angrily, grabbing Steve’s vest. “ _ What’s not good, Steve?! _ ”

“Don’t start! You think Kamala would want us fighting amongst ourselves? Get a grip,” Natasha snapped.

Bruce swallowed hard and blinked furiously as he stepped over to Natasha to watch what she was doing. Tony took a deep breath and let go of Cap, sarcastically apologizing for wrinkling his uniform, but Steve understood and patted Tony’s shoulder amicably. They all gathered around the table and the SHIELD agents gathered back around to listen in as Natasha ran the last of the decryption codes with JARVIS. “JARVIS, can you pull up the file for test subject 673?”

“ _ Certainly, Ms. Romanoff. Accessing files now… _ ”

A collage of spreadsheets, DNA structure diagrams, blood work results, and a whole litany of other research appeared in hologram above them. Natasha pointed to one of the spreadsheets and it highlighted blue before expanding. It was a list of diagnostics and other observations. She pointed to the second sentence and read out loud one crucial word. “ _ Morphogenesis… _ ”

“Kamala,” Bruce breathed.

“Hold on a minute, we don’t know that for sure, I mean there are other Inhumans with the same powers as each other right? What if it’s another polymorph?” Tony asked. 

“ _The collection date for subject 673 is dated for yesterday at 23:17_ ,” JARVIS said.

Tony looked down, shaking his head, and crossed his arms, sneering. “Ten  _ fucking _ minutes….”

“Okay. So this is obviously Kamala, where does it say they’re located?” Bruce asked, waving his hand at the holograph in front of them.

“The location was redacted from the list, but another interesting case file caught my attention. An old friend of ours seems to have had his own falling out with the Scientist Supreme,” Natasha huffed and typed something into the terminal. 

A separate file appeared next to Kamala’s in the air and Bruce gasped. “Is that-?”

“The Abomination. Not sure what he did to land himself there, but he’s been demoted from goony to lab rat,” Natasha said, crossing her arms.

Cap stepped forward and pointed to Abomination. “We think if Monica is keeping him locked up it's got to be a secure place, with plenty of protection to hold him. So, a place like that is bound to be the type of place to hold an Avenger.”

Bruce nodded in agreement. “Okay so, what’s the bad news?”

Steve looked at Natasha who scowled as she wiped Abomination’s files from the holograph and pointed to another spreadsheet. This one highlighted and expanded like the last one, the heading of the page was clear and made Bruce’s heart drop. Tony hissed behind him, “Doesn’t waste any time does she?”

_ D.A.R.K. Terrigen Mist Trials _

Bruce felt like the ground had swallowed him up as he read over the procedure and the plans for the next trials scheduled three days from now. Tony was right, Monica didn’t waste any time. The last bits of any calmness he had were beginning to snap and fray as he thought about the horrible things Kamala was currently enduring. He had caught a glimpse of Monica’s initial observations and saw something about ‘ _ shock restraints _ ’, and it made his stomach roll with uneasiness and dread. All he could think about was the videos of Resistance members and Inhuman test subjects from rescue missions. The “Cure” that once upon a time, Bruce remembered Kamala getting her hopes up for…

_ “What if I could be normal again? I mean you saw them, it looks like it really hurts, but… but maybe that’s worth it?” _

It wasn’t worth anything, it was just a slow, painful… death. 

The terminal in front of Bruce was crushed beneath the fist he brought down on top of it. The others jumped in surprise and the SHIELD agents around them pulled out their guns. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the inevitable Other Guy to make an appearance, but Steve, without an ounce of fear, placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. He looked up at Steve, huffing and shaking, and Steve smiled at him. “Once we figure out where Abomination is, it’s time to make a plan.”

Bruce stared at him, always a beacon of hope and stability, and he nodded slowly, taking a fortifying breath. Now was not the time to get upset. He could take his anger out on AIM. On Monica. The Hulk rumbled in agreement from the back of his mind, willingly retreating back into the shadows to bide his time. Tony asked JARVIS to start scouting potential locations, focusing on gamma radiation signatures. Everyone set back to work, now with a clear direction in mind and Bruce looked down at his watch. The day was almost over and time was unforgiving as the seconds ticked by. They only had a few days before the Scientist Supreme started another round of the mist trials and Kamala’s chance of surviving became slim to none. 

Steve nodded to everyone around them. “Time to get to work.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts????? Excitement, terror, rage, relief????


	9. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing a week guys! School is finally over and no more stressing about finals! I’ll be posting two chapters today to make up for the lost week! Thanks for your patience :)

Kamala’s ears were ringing when she woke up. Jaw aching and whole body too heavy to move as she groped sluggishly at the cool metal floor. She blinked a few times and watched the world tilt so she closed her eyes again.

“Finally awake, little pet?” 

She swallowed and scowled at the space in front of her. She had no energy or mood to deal with Abomination. She didn’t know how long she was out, once again completely lost here in the dark. Her stomach cramping and head pounding from the lack of food and water. She didn’t know how Monica planned to continue her tests if Kamala died of starvation and dehydration. If it wasn’t one, it would be the other. Not that she felt inclined to eat anything offered here. It might contain something Monica planned to test on her. 

The silence ticked by as she faded in and out of consciousness. She heard occasional chatter from her cell mates, but she was barely able to understand anything. It was like she was underwater or time went in slow-motion around her. Feeling was starting to come back to her, but she was too heavy to move. She blacked out for what seemed like a half an hour before finally waking with some semblance of coherency. Kamala’s neck was stiff and the muscles pinched painfully as she turned her head to the other side. 

Abomination was standing there, right in front of the glass and so close that his breath fogged the surface. She wanted him to look away, the shame and vulnerability was overwhelming to her tired mind. She knew it was silly to feel like that when they were virtually in the same position, but still, it sucked.

He chuckled to himself and raised a scaly claw to the glass between them, drumming his nails against it. She winced at the awful, high pitched tapping that reverberated through the cell. 

“You don’t look so good, pet,” he growled.

Kamala licked at her lips, cringing at the dry and cracking skin. “Don’t - call me that...”

“Hmm, am I making you angry? Banner isn’t the best teacher for controlling that anger is he?” He laughed.

She closed her eyes again and furrowed her brow frustrated. If she was going to be subjected to his little talks, then she was going to do it sitting up and with a small amount of dignity. 

She grit her teeth as she slid her arms under herself and pushed up. Her arms shook like a trembling leaf and she stumbled as her vision grew hazy with the movement. She reached up and grabbed onto the table for some sort of support. She breathed deeply and slid her legs out in front of her resting her head against the edge of the table. She had her back facing Abomination and she could tell by his irritated grunt that he didn’t appreciate his taunting being ignored. 

Kamala winced as she tried to speak and all that came was a wheezy breath. She tried again, panting out the sentence. “So, no longer the Scientist Supreme’s lap dog?”

She didn’t jump when he slammed a fist against the glass. Good, she wanted him angry, she could channel her frustrations through him.

“You talk big for a dead thing, little pet.” Abomination’s tone was warning.

“Why’d she put you down here with us anyways? Break too many of her toys while you went about wreaking havoc?”

Abomination huffed again, grumbling something Kamala could not make out. She hoped he would leave her alone, but he seemed willing to converse as he answered her question. “After you, Banner and your friends stopped me in Wisconsin, Monica deemed me useless.”

Kamala frowned. “And you didn’t try to stop her?”

He roared, and she did jump this time when he slammed both fists against the glass. “I’m not like your dumb brute!”

She heard a crack and her heart raced, adrenaline kicking in and her body preparing for fight or flight. She had no way of defending herself against him if he broke through. Maybe she shouldn’t invite his anger in such confined space.

She looked over her shoulder, hearing heavy footfalls, and watched him walk away turning his back to her. She faced ahead and thought about what he had said. She was still curious as to why he was still sitting in the cell when he could’ve easily overpowered Monica. Maybe she had promised him better powers or something? Another upgrade? It didn’t seem like he was waiting for something like that though, and even if he was she doubt he’d be waiting from a cell. No, they weren’t allies anymore, that much was clear. His failure in Wisconsin landed him here and Kamala knew that it was because of the Hulk and the Avengers. She was surprised he hadn’t tried to kill her for that alone.

“Are you in there willingly?” She asked softly.

Abomination growled. “It’s none of your business, pet. Now, shut up.”

“Why not try to escape? Why-?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” He roared again.

She heard the screech of metal and harsh ripping sound followed by a crash that echoed through the entire chamber. Prisoners backed away into the farthest corner of their cells, faces white as sheets. Abomination let out another ear splitting screech and pounded at the ground. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the table in his cell had been wrenched from his anchor and thrown. She watched his shoulders heaving as he breathed heavily and grunted at the new mess he had made. 

There was loud beep over the PA and the other prisoners looked around in anticipation. Kamala heard the familiar clanking of robotic feet against the ground and looked out towards the path that led out in front of her cell. Two synthoids, one carrying a large water bottle and a tray of something she couldn’t identify, stopped in front of her. A console sprung from the ground and the synthoid with his hands free opened the glass wall. The tray was deposited at the very edge and the wall closed up as quickly as it went down. She watched them walk away and then disappear into the darkness. 

She looked over towards the food, or what she assumed was food, and the water. Her body screamed at her to drink something, and despite her reservations she knew she had to, possibly drugged or not. She glanced up to the other prisoners and noticed, with some alarm, that they all seemed to be focusing on the plate of food. She frowned. Did Monica not feed them? She observed some of the prisoners closest to her cell and saw the gaunt and frail features. Kamala’s heart broke in two for all of them, as she realized that these prisoners were clearly not as important to Monica as she was. They were dispensable, simple guinea pigs for Monica’s experiments and represented nothing more than extra supplies. 

She looked back towards the water and food, sneering at them. If she ate in front of them, then what would she look like? It would be selfish and they would probably resent her for it, and the last thing she wanted here was more enemies. She couldn’t not drink the water though, she needed some strength if she was gonna figure out a plan of escape. She grabbed onto the table again and groaned as she pulled herself up onto wobbly legs. The few feet it took to get towards the water felt like she had ran miles and she spun so her back hit the glass and she slid down to the ground beside the tray. The youngest Avenger reached over and took the bottle of water, uncapped the top and tipped it against her lips. 

Kamala remembered her father telling her not to drink so quickly when her stomach was empty. She had gotten the stomach flu when she was seven and he stayed up all night with her, spoon feeding her water every few minutes. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto that memory and trying not to think about what happened. She wished she could talk to her father now, just one last time. To tell him she loved him more. The plastic of the bottle crinkled as she tightened her grip around it and she shook her head. She needed to focus. If she didn’t think of how to get out of here then she would surely be dead when Monica tried the D.A.R.K. Terrigen on her again. She needed to escape, if not for herself then for the other Inhumans suffering around her. For her friends. For the Avengers… the last family she had left. 

She looked down to the food beside her and back handed it, sending it flying. Kamala watched with satisfaction as it slid down the glass leaving streaks and dirtying the pristine surface. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, considerations, screeching or criticism welcome!


	10. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter contains a sorta OFC. I have a name to one of the scientists in the lab who speaks with Kamala on the Chimera. Hope you guys enjoy!

_ Bruce walked around the lab, peering over the shoulders of the scientists and checking over work handed to him. It was humbling to have the lab buzzing with activity again and he enjoyed the company more than he thought he would. He finished checking over the plants and climbed the stairs to the second floor. He stopped when he reached the landing and smirked at what was in front of him.  _

_ Dr. Imai was there scolding a sheepish Kamala who held her hands behind her back. “What did I say about leaving fingerprints on everything?” _

_ “Sorry Nayaoki,” Kamala laughed nervously. _

_ Dr. Imai nodded and tucked her tablet beneath her arm. She said hello to Bruce as she passed him heading down the stairs. Kamala looked up to him, eyes a little wide and frowned lowering her head. “Sorry Bruce.” _

_ He smiled, stepping up to her and leaning down to look at her face. She looked up at him and tried to smile back. He wasn’t mad, or upset, Dr. Imai was the one who was very strict about the cleanliness of the lab and while he appreciated it, he couldn’t fault Kamala for being curious.  _

_ “I think you’ve learned your lesson,” he said and she nodded vigorously. _

_ “Yup. No more fingerprints! I think Nayaoki will lock me out of the lab if it happens again, honestly.” _

_ “Ah, well considering that authority falls to me, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it,” he chuckled. _

_ She beamed up at him and his arms fell to his sides as she leaned forward and hugged him. Bruce brought his arms up slowly around her and felt a sudden need to pull her closer. It was as if, if he let go she would disappear. Panic curled around his mind and his arms tightened around her. She buried her face into his chest and he knew she could hear his thundering heart. How would he explain? _

_ “Bruce...” she mumbled. _

_ The tighter he held her, the less corporeal she felt. It was like hugging air, but he couldn’t let go. He couldn’t.  _

_ “Why didn’t you protect me?” _

_ He gasped and looked down at her. He watched in horror as he looked down the top of her head and saw the grated metal floor beneath her. She was fading away right in front of him. He shook his head, and closed his eyes unable to watch as he pulled her closer.  _

_ “Kamala, don’t go, please. I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” _

_ “You could’ve saved me. Why didn’t you? Why, Bruce?” _

_ Kamala’s voice sounded distant, like she was miles away and not right against him. He started to cry. He begged her not to go as the last bit of her disappeared asking him why. He fell to his knees, groping at the ground and yelling her name till his voice became hoarse.  _

_ He looked up and around him, pleading into the now empty lab for help. The lights flickered and when he blinked the room changed. The pristine lab was gone and he was surrounded by the decaying and ruined remains of the decommissioned Chimera.  _

_ He pushed himself to his feet and looked around. Everything was covered in a thick layer of red dust and made him choke on dry air. He called out to anyone, still hyperventilating and hearing Kamala’s heartbreaking voice replaying over and over in his mind.  _

_ He had to pry open the science lab door which was stuck with barely enough room to squeeze through. He coughed when he stumbled into the hall, kicking up the dust into the still air. There was no sign of anyone. He was alone again. _

_ He headed for the command deck, planning to get to a terminal and try to contact someone. Anyone. However, when he stepped onto the command deck he knew he wouldn’t be able to. There was no power and the war table looked like it had been smashed in.  _

_ He headed up towards the large windows looking out onto the tarmac of the helicarrier. He pressed his head against the glass and closed his eyes, breathing heavy and whispering to himself. “Someone... please help...” _

_ Bruce thought then that he wouldn’t be alone for long. Kamala was looking for him. Kamala would come, looking for the Resistance like she had almost a year ago and he wouldn’t be alone anymore. She would come, she had to come. _

_ But when Bruce opened his eyes, he shouted and staggered away from the window. In the glass he could see eyes staring at him, but it wasn’t his reflection. The eyes were cold, furious... green. _

_ His reflection was gone and all he could see was the face of the Hulk glaring at him. Bruce looked over his shoulder, but he was alone. It was ridiculous and he knew it was because he couldn’t be standing here, and staring at the Hulk. But there he was, growling at Banner and his hard stare was accusatory. _

_ “Banner failed Kamala.” _

_ Bruce inhaled sharply and clenched his hands into fists at his sides. He hissed. “It’s not my fault! Monica took her!” _

_ “Banner weak. Banner not protect little one.” _

_ “Shut up!” _

_ “Banner coward. Banner need saving. Always. Want little one save him. Banner unable save Kamala.” The Hulk roared.  _

_ Bruce gasped, hands releasing from their fists and stepped back. The Hulk was right. Here he was waiting for Kamala to come rescue him from his isolation, when she was the one in danger. He was a coward, he couldn’t protect her no matter how much he wanted to. It was his fault. _

_ “Banner weak!” _

_ He winced at the Hulk’s words, shaking his head. “Stop.” _

_ “Banner coward!” _

_ “Stop it!” _

_ “Banner not protect Kamala!” _

_ Bruce screamed. _

Bruce sat up straight in his bed panting and covered in sweat. He grasped at his shirt, over his heart and felt it pounding against his ribs. JARVIS warned him his heart rate was dangerously high and bordering on a code green. 

Bruce buried his face into one hand and forced himself to take deep breaths. It was just a dream, or rather a nightmare, and one that left him with indescribable guilt. Bruce pressed his fingers into his eyes, his lashes wet from the tears and hung his head. JARVIS let him know that his heart rate had finally slowed down enough and he thanked the AI before getting out of bed. He didn’t know if the dream was just his mind blaming him or if it was the Hulk’s subconscious anger, but he didn’t have time to sit here and feel sorry for himself. The others were focused on finding the prison where Kamala was; Tony, Steve and Thor had headed out to gather more information from the labs on the list they found and Natasha had stayed aboard to communicate with SHIELD and the defected AIM scientists. Tony had insisted on going out, unable to stay on the helicarrier, and frankly stay stationary. They were all anxious and on edge at this point, and Bruce wondered after this dream if he should tag along on the next reconnaissance mission and let off his own steam. Maybe Nat would join him the H.A.R.M. room later. 

Bruce left his room and headed into the lab. He was surprised to see Natasha sitting at one of the table flicking through the tablet in front of her. She looked up at him as he approached and raised an eyebrow. “You alright doc?”

He sighed, rubbing at his arm. “Bad dream.”

Natasha nodded in understanding and looked back down at the tablet. Bruce swept his eyes around the lab and frowned at the lack of scientists around. “Where is everyone?”

“I sent them for a lunch break. They’ve been looking over the Scientist Supreme’s records and observations. Everyone’s worried,” she whispered, eyes looking away for a moment before focusing back on her work.

“Did you get any rest?” Bruce asked her.

“Enough,” she said, succinctly.

“Nat,” he sighed.

“More than you. The others will be back soon and I need you take a look at these files one of the scientists sent through. It’s all the work they could scrap up on D.A.R.K. Terrigen experiments. Pym sent some things by as well, if you wanna check that out, too.”

Bruce spread his fingers on top of the desk, tapping it and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll take a look.”

“I’m gonna get in touch will Hill and see if SHIELD has learned anything. JARVIS was able to rule a few more locations and we’ve narrowed down the search to the west coast. I’ll let you know if we hear anything more from Maria,” Natasha said.

She stood up, leaving the tablet on the table and heading towards the command deck doors. He watched her go, wanting to say something, but unable to find any words of comfort for her or himself. He was still shaken by the nightmare. He sat down at the table and pulled up all the messages Natasha highlighted for him to review. Bruce throws himself into his work, not even looking up when the other scientists and SHIELD agents return. He writes notes to himself, working out possible solutions to every problem documented on Inhumans and D.A.R.K. Terrigen side-effects. Working is a good distraction, and it helps him feel like they’re making progress. The date in the right hand corner of the screen catches his eyes and he’s reminded that they have only a little more than two days before Monica does another trial. 

Bruce thinks for a moment about his relationship with the now Scientist Supreme. Tony had introduced him to Monica and George when he made the deal with AIM to start the Terrigen project. Monica was the one who asked him out to dinner and had been persistent and patient with him during his initial unease. He had enjoyed her company, and her eagerness to take on his perpetual side project of studying what happened to him. Although, now he knew the real reason she had been so aggressive about her intentions, and what the relationship between them, whether professional or intimate, had really been to her. Bruce sighed. He had, once, really cared for her. He couldn’t say he was in love, it wasn’t the same feeling he got when he had been with Betty. It was infatuation. Bruce had been deprived of that intimacy with someone, and for so long, that he jumped in a little too quickly. He had lowered his carefully made defenses and it cost him the one thing he valued so much, trust. Now, when he finally started rebuilding some of his damaged psyche and faith in people again, she had taken away yet another important thing to him that left him nearly crippled. 

There was a time that Bruce would’ve protected her with everything he had. It made the plans to destroy her and her little empire that much more satisfying.

He called for Natasha over the communication bud. “Nat, you busy?”

“ _ Unfortunately not as much as I’d like to be. Did you need something?” _

“Do you wanna meet me in the H.A.R.M. room? I, uh, need to blow off some steam.”

He could hear her grin over the audio. “ _ Sounds perfect. I’ll meet you down there in fifteen, doc.” _

_ - _

The others returned later in the evening and looked defeated. They visited three labs and another data archive with no new information. They hadn’t expected much, but coming back empty handed was still a crushing blow. Thor and Steve retired to bed, in desperate need of rest, but Tony stayed up and joined Bruce in the science lab reviewing his work and adding input. Natasha brought them coffee closer to midnight and stayed with the two geniuses, going though her own work and periodically calling the scientists. Around 4AM, Bruce looked over to Tony and saw the ex-billionaire was sleeping, slumped against one arm and snoring. He looked towards Nat then, but she was still awake scrolling aimlessly through the tablet on her lap.

“Nat,” Bruce whispered.

The spy looked up and her eyes were bloodshot. She glanced at Tony and the looked back at Bruce expectantly. “What?”

“Go to bed,” he said.

She shook her head. “I still have a few messages to go through.”

“Natasha.”

She stilled for a moment, eyes staring ahead of her and lost in her thoughts. Bruce watched her blue eyes glaze over as her mind wandered. It wasn’t something uncommon. The others always noticed it at some point or another, and although it was concerning, they knew to leave her alone. Yet, this time felt a little different. Natasha’s mouth hung open as she struggled to voice her thoughts. 

“W-when I was in the Red Room, there were girls always coming in. Some older… some younger…” 

Nat seemed to choke on that last word and he frowned, but didn’t say anything just waited patiently. She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly, a sardonic smile tugging at her lips before she continued. 

“I hated what I knew was going to happen. I wasn’t trained to use my skill set to save people, Bruce. I just - watched. I loathed that their young lives… their potential was being stolen and blamed them for being weak, so I didn’t have to blame myself for being a bystander.”

“Natasha —“

She spoke over him though. “I blamed Kamala when she ran off to Black Mesa when we met.”

She looked up, meeting Bruce’s eyes and he looked down from her piercing gaze so full of emotion that he was not used to from the stoney assassin. “That was my fault,” he mumbled. 

“I didn’t see it like that. I blamed Kamala for jumping right into a situation that she couldn’t possibly handle. Even after years of being an Avenger, I struggled with my mind because all I could remember was the Red Room and my mission.”

“But you did save her, Nat. That is all that matters,” Bruce said. 

“I didn’t see the other side of the coin. I couldn’t fathom how a girl from Jersey could consider herself powerful enough to help anyone, and then I realized that she didn’t. She just didn’t want to watch anymore of the people like her suffer. She went against you, against Hank — she wasn’t going to be a bystander, powers or not.”

“What are you trying to say?” Bruce asked, running a hand down his tired hand.

Natasha smiled, all mocking and sadness gone from her eyes. “That she’s the best of us. Kamala is stubborn, brave… and she won’t go down without a fight.”

The scientist’s lips twitched into the ghost of a smile and he nodded his heavy head. Natasha was right about that, Kamala was definitely stubborn. She stood up, laying the tablet on the seat and walked over to Tony shaking his shoulder. Tony grumbled in his sleep and swatted at Nat’s arm half-heartedly. She sighed and crossed her arms fixing Tony with an annoyed glare. “C’mon Stark. Bedtime for the billionaire.”

Tony snored loudly in reply and Bruce rolled his eyes. Natasha looked at him raising an eyebrow and Bruce sighed standing up. They each slung one of Tony’s arms across their shoulders and practically dragged him across the ground. He wasn’t too heavy, but Natasha’s shorter stature left Bruce with most of his weight as she guided them out of the lab. The stairs were a nightmare to navigate and Bruce asked Nat if they could just leave him to curl up on the landing. “As tempting as that is I doubt we’d ever hear the end of it.”

They finally got Tony to bed and Bruce was contemplating returning to the lab or heading to bed himself. He followed Natasha back down, but stopped at the last step holding onto the railing and smiled sadly. Natasha noticed him stop and looked back at him. “Bruce?”

“Wonder where she got it from, huh?” He said, looking at his feet.

She looked at him for a moment and then smirked, tapping a finger to her chin. “Well, it's true that her father seemed like quite the stubborn man when we met him. But I don’t know…. could’ve sworn that she reminded me a little of a friend. Ya know, a little anxious, unsure… wanting to do the right thing even when they’re terrified.”

He lifted his head and Natasha’s smirk melted to a warmer smile. “Goodnight, Bruce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate (and live off) all and any feedback!


	11. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive! Anyone still there? 😅

“You’re going to die quicker if you don’t eat anything, pet,” Abomination growled.

Kamala glanced over at him and then closed her eyes. Today was rough, she had endured hours of tests and experiments that pushed her to limits she didn’t know she had. Being forcibly stretched was almost as bad as the DARK Terrigen mist making her embiggen against her will. She managed to map out a general direction of where she was located. The walk to the lab was longer than it had been to the huge room, and there had been a hallway where she could see natural light coming through. If they brought her there tomorrow she could try to gather more intel, but her window of escaping before the next mist trials was growing smaller and smaller. She also had no way of fighting and hacking simultaneously. Where was Widow’s Veil of Shadows when you needed it?

“Starvation is a slow death,” Abomination chuckled.

Eyes slowly opening she looked at him sitting there against the opposite wall staring at her. His lips were curled in an amused sneer and Kamala smirked at the expression. “Feeling sympathy for the enemy? I didn’t think you were capable.”

He growled warningly, but when she didn’t flinch or cower away, he huffed. “I don’t care if you die. I’m just angry that it won’t be me killing you. I’d love to see the look on Banner’s face when I’d deliver the final blow.”

She felt sick to her stomach and not because of the death threat, but because his goal was always to make Bruce suffer. Whenever they encountered the Abomination there was always some connection back to Bruce guiding the monster’s actions. It was like he was purposely made to cause Bruce pain.

“What happened do you?” She asked, ignoring the nagging voice in her head that was against speaking with him.

“Huh?” 

“How did you - become that?”

He narrowed his eyes, gravelly voice cutting through the air like a knife. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, little pet.”

“You’re different from the Hulk. You can talk to me and have your... calm moments. Were you human before or were you made like this?”

“Stop asking questions or I’ll break through this damned glass and kill you before Monica gets the chance!” He snapped.

“Well, why haven’t you tried to escape then?” She demanded, crossing her arms.

“In case you haven’t been paying attention this is one of the most secure labs AIM has. If you think it’s just puny synthoids outside you’re stupider than I thought. The security system would trap me before I got past the first hallway.” 

Kamala thought about what he said. He was right about the crazy security, but unlike him she knew ways to get out of places without direct combat. Or furious smashing. She was still curious though, to know why he was here and hadn’t fought back. If he wasn’t going to tell her, she was going to figure it out herself.

“So, Monica locks you in here after you failed your heinous mission to expose an entire population of innocent people to gamma radiation, and then — oh,  _ the clones _ ,” Kamala whispered to herself. 

Abomination let out a guttural roar, pounding both fists against the ground and huffing hard in anger. 

So he was just another lab rat, too. Monica would come harvest some DNA and then make her clones. Who needed the original when she could perfect mindless copies who would listen without question. She thought for a moment about what he said about the security systems and the potential enemies waiting outside.

“Do… you know where we are? Where this lab is?” She asked, voice almost inaudible.

He narrowed his eyes, looking back over his shoulder at her and then turned back ahead facing the empty, dark abyss. She sighed and pulled up her knees to her chest, laying her head across her crossed arms. Of course he wouldn’t tell her if he did know. Even if his loyalties no longer aligned to Monica, they were still enemies. Kamala couldn’t blame him, she wouldn’t hesitate to withhold information like that from such a monster. 

“Some jungle,” he growled.

Kamala’s eyes flew open in surprise and she looked up at him, shocked. He just… answered her question. She burned with the knowledge to know why he would do such a thing, but stopped herself before asking. No need to further probe him to explain his motives, he might clam up again and so far he served as her only other source of any information about this place. She thought about her next question carefully, “Any idea if there are — any cities nearby?”

“I doubt it,” he grunted, crossing his arms.

She shivered as the pointed spines along his back and the barbs along his skin rippled when he flexed his muscles. The teenager had been on the receiving end of a few of his blows and they didn’t tickle, for sure. 

“My turn for a question then, pet,” he said walking up to the glass. 

In the pale yellow light of the cell, his eyes glowed with malicious, twisted and cold intent. She curled a little further into herself at the way he scrutinized her, like she was a bug that had caught his attention before he decided to squish it. Like a cricket, as he once called her. After the mist trial and the day of being poked, prodded and pulled, she did feel like a bug.

“What?” She breathed, voice wavering slightly.

“Do you really think you can escape?”

She swallowed hard, looking down at her wrists and the shock restraints. She was trying to hold on to any last bit of confidence and hope, but hearing the question aloud instead of in her anxious mind, shook her to the core. She took a deep breath, blowing hard out her nose and buried her hands in her hair, shaking her head. 

“ _ I don’t know. _ ”

He didn’t laugh or growl, there were no mocking remarks or petty comments. She could still feel his gaze piercing right through her and the first tears sprang to her eyes, sliding down her cheeks slowly. “ _ I don’t know, _ ” she whispered again.

“You can barely stand, walk, fight. What do you think you could do if you managed to break out of this glass? Are you some kind of freak like Banner, smarter than you are strong?” 

Kamala laughed. It was a startling sound that even woke some of the Inhumans around her. The Abomination sneered at her, face twisting in disgust like anything remotely positive was repulsive, but she laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, or anywhere close to filling her with anything joyful. It was a laugh of disbelief and it was broken by the choppy sobs that bubbled out of her throat. She was sure she looked insane, maybe she had gone a little insane from the grief, and the fear. 

“What’s so damn funny?” Abomination hissed.

She wiped at her eyes and shook her head. “As smart as Bruce? You’ve gotta be kidding me, I wish. Maybe if I had been, I wouldn’t be stuck here. I wouldn’t have allowed Monica to take me and murder my family. I wouldn’t have let these poor people get captured.  _ As smart as Bruce?  _ Pfft, never. I’m a damned fool w-who thought they could be a hero, but too blinded to remember the reality. People die because of people like me. And at the end of the day… we can’t even save ourselves.”

She was surprised by her own words and her voice trailed off as she considered what she just said. It was frightening how right she sounded as she thought about how this all started. She had never understood how the heroes she had looked up to all her life had just slipped through the cracks the way they did. Of course, Nat and Thor had tried to do other good things, but they were just as guilty as Bruce and Tony, running away from it all. Cap’s death had rocked the whole world, but she had never really comprehended how quickly the Avengers had just fallen apart like that. Until this, and now she felt like the one falling apart. Who was coming to put  _ her  _ back together? There was a good chance they could’ve thought she died in that burning building. Were they burying her family? Were they ‘burying’  _ her _ ? Were they falling apart again?

Panic overtook her and she started to hyperventilate, hugging her arms and falling on her side, curled into a ball. Everything felt so raw and it felt like she was trying to crawl out of a never-ending pit of despair towards a light that was far beyond her reach. The brief thought of regret flashed through her mind and she cursed A-Day, and the stupid Terrigen mist, and AIM, and  _ MonicaandGeorgeandandand… _

The faces of the Avengers entered her callous thoughts and like a comforting blanket they eased the resentment back into the dark corners of her mind. She wasn’t a hateful person and her parents had raised her to do good before these powers. She hadn’t gotten the Avengers back together because of her powers, it was just — the right thing to do. She used her words and her actions, and her  _ hope.  _ The powers were only a bridge, and though she knew the tragedy of A-Day as well as the next person, she  _ didn’t  _ regret meeting her heroes. She didn’t regret meeting Bruce, and Tony, and Nat, a-and Thor, and Steve. In the end, it was  _ her  _ who had defeated MODOK and saved  _ them.  _ She never gave up hope. 

She pushed herself back up and looked back towards the Abomination who had receded to the farther corner of his cell. Even in the minimal light she could see and sense his repugnance to her emotional outburst.

“Are you fucking done?” He snapped.

“Yeah, I’m done. And I’m escaping this hell hole,” she said, standing and clenching her fists.

He rolled his eyes at her sudden burst of energy. “You're a fool, little pet. A stupid, weak, and annoying little cretin.”

She pursed her lips at his words, but refused to be phased by his hurtful words. “You’re all talk and no bite, buddy.”

Abomination’s head whipped around and his eyes glowed with murderous intent.

“What did you just say?” He snarled.

“I thought those pointy things on the sides of you head were ears, or are you dumb  _ and  _ deaf?” Kamala goaded, pretending to check her nails and purposely feigning indifference to his rapidly increasing rage.

He was on his feet faster than she thought he was capable of and slammed both fists at the glass between them. Spit pooled and dripped from his jaws as his claws ripped down the glass sending an ear piercing screech echoing through the empty room. The Inhuman’s around her, who were anxiously watching the growing hostility, grabbed at their ears, yelping and wincing. Kamala didn’t flinch, but she clasped her trembling hands behind her back and smirked at the monster. The impact craters against the glass spread, weakening the integrity of the cell even further. 

“ _ You are going to regret-!” _

_ “ _ Help me escape.”


End file.
